Future-Proofing The Middle East's Farms With Sustainable Technology

Despite only accounting for 13% of GDP in the Middle East, agriculture plays a vital role in the region's economy by supporting vital economic sectors, providing the foundation for many economies, and fostering resilient food systems. Of the region's total population of 296 million, 84 million (or 28%) rely solely on agriculture for their livelihood.

Diets in the Middle East have historically relied on the cultivation of cereals and animals, and later on the cultivation of fruits and vegetables on carefully irrigated land. Due to the region's drier environment and scarcer water supplies, it has long been a hotbed of agricultural innovation, including the development of new irrigation techniques and chemical fertilisers. However, limited resources such as arable land and fresh water have compounded the negative effects on regional food production, leaving many nations increasingly reliant on agricultural imports and subject to swings in global commodity prices. The environmental damage resulting from climate change is only expected to worsen the issue further.

Changing Weather Patterns, Shifting Population Demographics, And Food Trade Imbalances

Unpredictability in weather and desertification patterns is a global problem. About two-thirds of the people in the Middle East are located in locations with inadequate renewable water resources to maintain food production. In the Middle East and North Africa, agriculture accounts for an average of 83% of water use, while industry accounts for only 4%.

Because of its high urbanisation rate, which currently stands at 70% and is projected to expand to 329 million by 2050, the region is especially at risk from the negative effects of climate change. While the Malthusian premise of population expansion resulting to eventual scarcity and misery does provide some context for understanding the loss in agricultural output, it is insufficient for doing so either regionally or internationally.

Food insecurity in the Middle East has been mostly fueled by unsustainable patterns of consumption. In fact, at least half of the food calories consumed in the region are imported, and the countries there are the world's leading importers of grain. Persistent climate change dynamics have exacerbated global food trade imbalances, particularly impacting food-insecure and import-reliant countries such as the Middle East.

Trying to meet the growing demand for food using the same farming methods as before is likely to exacerbate resource scarcity, boost greenhouse gas emissions, and accelerate soil erosion. One can learn from Iran's situation, where half of the country's cropland is located on "low quality" land, prompting farmers to engage in unsustainable groundwater pumping technologies and so increasing soil salinity and threatening the regeneration of water supplies. Attempts to apply band-aid solutions to what is ultimately a systemic issue are certain to fail.

But a new trend has evolved in a location that has been in the vanguard of recent technological breakthroughs, and it may hold the key to resolving the issue of food scarcity. In order to solve the decades-old issues of poor farmland productivity and water scarcity, new technologies have been created over the past decade. Such efforts have the potential to significantly contribute to the region's food systems' resilience.

These innovations aim to boost agricultural productivity through more efficient and environmentally friendly means. Agricultural technology (or "agritech") currently seeks to minimise agrarian waste and the application of chemical fertilisers in response to the need to encourage sustainable agricultural expansion. Future research that draws on historical precedents could provide answers to the region's severe food shortage.

Technology To Boost Agriculture System

When it comes to changing the way farming is done, the Middle East is way out in front. This area is at the forefront of the AgriTech movement, which uses cutting-edge technical solutions like the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI), among others. The government is spending a lot of money on public-private partnerships and cooperation to promote environmentally friendly farming methods. United Arab Emirates has contributed USD100 million, the largest single contribution, to the National Food Security Strategy. Vertical farming, in which food like fruits and vegetables are produced in warehouse-like conditions, is one strategy the country is pursuing to reduce food waste. Furthermore, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is making use of cutting-edge new technology in non-invasive soil reclamation based on Liquid NanoClay (LNC) to transform barren desert into fruitful soil.

“The role of agriculture in the economies of the MENA countries varies considerably. Whereas agriculture accounts for only 3.2% of Saudi Arabia's GDP, it accounts for more than 13% of Egypt's. Though only a fraction of the total population, agriculture employs 84 million people and is vital to the region's economy and social fabric. Though the region's farmers still rely heavily on time-tested methods, they have begun incorporating agritech (advanced agricultural technology) in recent years in order to better meet the region's new difficulties,” stated Rim Elijah, VP Sales, EOSDA.

“The Middle East is a promising market for satellite-based technologies. Agribusinesses, as I've already indicated, have been interested in agritech since at least 2010. Therefore, now is an excellent time to provide a data-driven EOSDA Crop Monitoring platform to the Middle Eastern community, as satellite technologies are maturing and precision agriculture is gaining acceptance,” she commented further.

This is especially true of the sandy soil found in dry places, which is completely unsuitable for farming without extensive processing to make it productive again. Soil improvement and manipulation to achieve the appropriate properties can aid in agricultural production and reduce water use. Due to its nutrient richness and ability to retain water, clay is an excellent material for soil enrichment. In order to make arid terrain fruitful, scientists have developed a material called Liquid NanoClay, which is composed of layered silicates and other minerals in varying concentrations. The nanotechnology-based Liquid NanoClay is a dispersion made by homogenising tiny clay flakes suspended in water. The small clay particles in Liquid NanoClay are what make it so effective at creating a uniformly nutrient-rich medium. When comparing treated and untreated plots using the same number of seeds and amount of fertiliser, liquid NanoClay can reduce water use by 50-60% while increasing yield by 400%. It only takes approximately 7 hours for it to permeate the sandy soil and produce a fertile environment for plants to flourish, while the natural process of regeneration from dry to arable lands can take anywhere from 7 to 15 hours. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) planted watermelon, zucchini, and pearl millet in the desert for a five-month trial of Liquid NanoClay technology beginning in March 2020. Following its first success, Liquid NanoClay technology is now ready to be scaled up on a commercial level for the production of food crops like fruits and vegetables.

The Role Of COVID-19 In The Future Of Agritech

As a result of the recent epidemic, there has been renewed interest in establishing agritech efforts across the region. ADIO established a series of collaborations with agritech startups in 2020 totaling $41 million, the largest investment in this sector to date in the MENA region. Included in ADIO's collaboration programmes are agritech businesses like Pure Harvest, which uses Dutch greenhouse growing technologies to cultivate vine vegetables, and Nanoracks' StarLab Space Farming Center, which studies food production in adverse weather conditions.

Additionally, Jordan's first agritech accelerator, HASSAD, was recently established to aid agtech startups and SMEs. HUGROW, Israel's first agritech accelerator, was recently established at the Hebrew University with the goal of fostering the development of marketable agricultural technology and fostering the expansion of agricultural research.

At a time when unemployment rates are high, the momentum surrounding agritech efforts may have considerable potential to generate new economic possibilities and high-quality jobs. Water-related transboundary conflicts and population movements continue to threaten a geopolitically fragile region, yet sustainable agriculture advances could help stabilise the area. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam issue is a case in point, demonstrating how water is entangled with interstate politics and conflicts in the Middle East, despite the region's relative abundance of water resources.

There are still major problems that haven't been adequately addressed by the solutions suggested in the agritech sector. If low-income countries in the region face such large initial investment costs for agricultural transformation, should they even try? Egypt, Syria, and Iraq are among the countries that are unable to obtain the resources necessary to develop innovative agritech due to a lack of government support and funding. The utility of such inventions is severely constrained, however, by the country's very restrictive regulatory environment and its persistent political instability.

One possible solution is to encourage partnerships between agritech startups and farmers in the region's low-income countries. Since it is now 25% more expensive to grow food locally using such technology than to import it, potential solutions could include making agricultural technology more accessible. Solar and wind energy subsidies, as well as efforts to increase infrastructure and provide better water service to the region's rural communities, would be good examples of possible incentives. Agricultural insurance tailored to the needs of farmers who employ these methods is another possible answer.

Increased cooperation between countries in the region may also help agriculture technologies. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has launched the "FoodTech Challenge," which seeks to reward innovative solutions addressing food security with a $1 million investment. In addition, a deal has just been made between an Israeli firm, Vertical Field, and a UAE firm, Emirates Smart Solutions & Technologies, to create agritech projects in the Persian Gulf, such as vertical farms. Whether or not such partnerships will quicken and grow in the wake of the Abraham Accords remains to be seen. However, in order to ensure a sustainable future for the area, such relationship will undoubtedly need to be expanded to lower-income countries as well.

Further commenting on developments, Mahmoud Adi, Co-Founder, Pure Harvest Smart Farms said, “When considering how the COVID-19 crisis and climate change are impacting food security in the Middle East, it is clear that agritech is now a must. Increasing the use of technology in agriculture, developing new methods for sustainable food production, and releasing funds for these purposes are all examples of this. As a result of governments in the Middle East looking to technological solutions, the agritech industry has been expanding. The governments of GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) states, led by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), are actively boosting their partnership with private firms and startups in order to pioneer the widespread use of agritech. For instance, the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) put US$ 100 million (AED 367 million) into agritech firms in November 2021 so that they could create cutting-edge agriculture solutions for what is often regarded as one of the world's hottest and driest locations.”

Echoing similar thoughts, Mark Tester, Founder, Red Sea Farms said, “The future of agriculture in the Middle East, therefore, is bright and hopeful, and agritech in the region is on the edge of a revolution. With a global track record of delivering agritech and farm management systems and multiple successful deployments in the Middle East will boost region’s agribusiness endeavours.”