From desert to farmland: UAE strives to become a pioneer in climate-smart agriculture Premium

Manbat, the Emirati farmers’ market, is a joint initiative between real estate developer Arada and the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment of the UAE to promote the UAE’s homegrown produce

In January 2021, giving the residents of the UAE a break from mall-hopping and watching Netflix, the new residential township of Arada in Sharjah’s Aljada area began hosting a weekly Friday market in the cooler months of the year, which sold fresh produce from lettuce and tomato to capsicum and honey. It drew a modest crowd, keen on consuming fresh, chemical-free farm produce. The food trucks, the free movie shows at the drive-in cinema, and other entertainment were added incentives to drive down to Sharjah’s latest happening area.

Manbat, the Emirati farmers’ market, is a joint initiative between real estate developer Arada and the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment of the UAE (MOCCAE) to promote the UAE’s homegrown produce in an enjoyable and family-friendly way. The initiative, which enlists the participation of over 200 vendors and farmers, has now shifted to Saturdays and Sundays to suit the new weekend in practice since January 2022. Manbat now has a permanent store in Aljada and pop-up markets in Dubai and Abu Dhabi on weekends, which have become popular. The cooperative sources produce from farms in the emirates of Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al Khaimah, and Umm al Qwain.

Manbat means seedlings or a place where plants grow, and incredible as it may seem, the country’s leadership and entrepreneurs are slowly turning the Arabian desert into a farmland. The UAE has 0.7% arable land and a desert climate with temperatures often shooting to 50 degrees Celsius in peak summer, hence requiring it to rely 90% on imports to meet food requirements. However, climate change and increasing desertification in its traditional sources and supply chains have made the UAE look inward.

In November 2018, the UAE launched the National Strategy for Food Security, which aims to make the country among the world’s best in the Global Food Security Index (GFSI) — issued each year by The Economist Impact — by 2051, and achieve zero hunger through access to safe, nutritious and sufficient food. Enabling sustainable food production with the aid of modern technologies, increasing local production, and developing international partnerships to diversify food sources are some of the key aspects of the strategy.

Moreover, 18 main food items, including plants, livestock, and fish products are constituents of the UAE food basket. The government is facilitating accelerator programmes to boost agriculture technology as well as providing loans and technical support to entrepreneurs in the field.

This scheme has paid off — in the 2019 GFSI, the UAE jumped 10 places to reach the 21st position among the 113 countries surveyed. By 2022, it topped the West Asia and North Africa (WANA) region in overall GFSI and in food availability. Economic and political stability have been key factors in the nation’s progress in this regard. The pandemic also increased awareness about eating healthy and locally, and disruptions in supply chains did not affect the nation much.

“We work with a huge range of farms across the UAE, from well-established technically advanced entities to smaller, family-run farms. Manbat’s remit is to empower Emirati farmers, linking them with local consumers in a bid to support the UAE’s long-term food security goals,” Ray Tinston, Director of Manbat, said.