Plant your own food for better future, minister tells families

Dubai - The Ministry of Food Security will be focusing its efforts on research, innovation and spreading awareness to enhance food security.

Optimising local production and encouraging families to plant their own food are some ways the UAE will follow to achieve food security. The Ministry of Food Security will be focusing its efforts on research, innovation and spreading awareness to enhance food security, said Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, Minister of State for Food Security.
"Achieving food security is a responsibility that lies on the society as a whole. We will be looking how to optimise local food production using technology like hydroponics, urban farming and aquaculture," said Almheiri during the launch of a new in-depth policy paper by the Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government (MBRSG), addressing the issue of food security in the UAE, identifying its strong points and drawbacks, and proposing solutions to improve it. 
Bearing the title, 'Advancing Food Security in the UAE', the paper was launched under the patronage of Almheiri. "Food security is a complex issue," she said. "We cannot tackle it unless we arm ourselves with extensive knowledge of its multitude of components and insight into current realities and future trends affecting the production, procurement and stockpiling of food products to meet the growing demand sparked by the UAE's large-scale development. 
She noted that research will be conducted to find out the food staples that need investing and explore the type of food to grow in the UAE.
"We will work with research centres in the UAE to figure out the percentage of local food production, what we will step up to and the type of food that we need to focus on growing in the country instead of importing," Almheiri noted.
Despite importing 80-90 per cent of its food supplies, the UAE is considered food secure due to its capacity to purchase food from the international market even at higher costs. 
Although it was ranked 33 on the global food security index, Almheiri said the question is about ensuring levels of security for future generations and mitigating risks associated with the global food supply chain.
She noted that awareness campaigns will be organised in schools to educate children on food waste and encourage families to plant their own food.
"Back in the old days, Arab and Emirati families used to plant their own farms at home, but we lost this to importation. We will need to bring it back in a modern way for children and understand the behavior of children towards food, while instilling in them the responsibility to think twice of how much waste they produce," noted Almheiri.
She added that the change of habits is necessary to implement from a young age to bring up a more aware generation.
While the technology in UAE is already surfacing and making its way to the market, the new minister said the ambition is to escalate the technologies and come up with ways to achieve sustainability.
sherouk@khaleejtimes.com
 

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