UAE government promotes 'Food Security Strategy 2052' to strengthen food security
Held the 2nd Food Tech Challenge in which agricultural and fishery startups from around the world participate
The prelude to the food tech challenge
In November 2018, the UAE government announced the National Food Security Strategy 2051, which aims to rank first in the World Food Security Index by 1. To achieve this goal, strengthening local production capacity using cutting-edge technology is our top priority. This collaboration started a food tech challenge project.
The Food Tech Challenge is a global competition that seeks next-generation agricultural technology solutions to address food security in the UAE. . 2020 companies from 68 countries participated in the first competition held in 437, foreshadowing the government-level human and material support along with a prize money for the winner.
Explore the winners of the 1st UAE Food Tech Challenge
The 1st Food Tech Challenge was contested by 2019 companies that applied from September 9 to February 2022, and 2 companies, Has Algae, QSMonitor, Red Sea Farms, and SafetyNet Technologies, won the prize, receiving $437 million each. received a prize for Each company seems to have received high marks for presenting innovative solutions in food security, carbon reduction, and resource conservation. The representative solutions of each company are as follows.
Has Algae, a startup based in Australia and Hong Kong, is developing a functional food substitute for meat by extracting plant-based omega-3 fatty acids from microalgae.
< Has Algae development product >
[Source: hasalgae.com (https://www.hasalgae.com/)]
QSMonitor is a UAE company that provides customized product tracking solutions throughout the food supply chain. The company focuses on food security by monitoring food safety using innovative technologies such as IoT, machine learning, algorithms and data analysis.
< Schematic of QS Monitor solution >
[Source: QSMonitor (https://qsmonitor.com/)]
Red Sea Farms is a Saudi Arabian company that seeks to achieve both food security and carbon reduction by developing sustainable agricultural technologies. By using the water resources necessary for irrigation agriculture as brine, it saves electricity for freshwater and improves energy efficiency by operating using solar energy. Based on this, tomatoes, cucumbers, and paprika are actually grown and sold.
< Red Sea Farms operation >
[Source: Red Sea Farms (https://redseafarms.com/)]
SafetyNet Technologies is a British start-up that manufactures equipment for fisheries. In order to protect the marine ecosystem by reducing reckless fishing, the company develops and sells data sensors, underwater cameras, and fishing precision devices for detecting the underwater environment.
< SafetyNet Technologies Products >
[Source: SafetyNet Technologies (https://sntech.co.uk/)]
The 2nd Food Tech Challenge
In April 2022, the UAE government announced the 4nd Food Tech Challenge Project, and the prize money was set at $2 million, which is twice as high as the previous round, encouraging more innovative companies to participate. In particular, in this round, the UAE government seeks to attract technologies related to 'food production' and 'food loss and waste'.
Recruitment for this round will be held until June 2022, and applications are being accepted through the Food Tech Challenge website (https://foodtechchallenge.com/). Entry requirements must be 6 years of age or older, and must be an early stage startup. Early-stage startups can be classified under the following conditions:
– Address 'Food Production' or 'Food Loss and Waste' segments of the value chain
– Have not yet gone for a Series-A funding round
– Have a workable minimum viable product
– Have been in operation for less than 5 years
– Have no more than 25 employees
Applications can be submitted by downloading the form after registering on the website, and you can choose between early submission and regular submission. In principle, all documents must be written in English.
< Recommended companies and procedures for each option >
[Source: Foodtechchallenge.com (https://foodtechchallenge.com/)]
If you click the submit button after reviewing that all required documents have been clearly written and uploaded, the application is complete, and a separate notification will be displayed in the application status when document evaluation is complete. The schedule of the Food Tech Challenge is shown in the schematic table below, and the final winner will be announced at the November 2022 awards ceremony. At the awards ceremony, various events such as panel discussions, workshops, live Q&A sessions, and networking opportunities will also be announced at the same time, so companies interested in the local food security industry are also worth paying attention to.
< 2022 2nd Food Tech Challenge Schedule >
[Source: Foodtechchallenge.com (https://foodtechchallenge.com/)]
Companies will be evaluated according to the criteria shown in the table below, and if they win, they will receive support such as R&D, mentoring, and business development along with a prize money to be used in the UAE agricultural industry.
< Table of Corporate Evaluation Criteria >
[Source: Foodtechchallenge.com (https://foodtechchallenge.com/)]
implication
The UAE is a country where farming is practically difficult due to the high temperature climate and little rainfall, as deserts occupy most of the country, where it is difficult to cultivate in open ground. For this reason, the UAE government has selected 18 basic food fields (agrifood, livestock dairy, aquaculture, etc.) to expand local production and is promoting 'Food Security Strategy 2051' to establish a domestic production system. In particular, as international grain prices continue to rise due to the recent crisis in Ukraine, with international corn prices reaching the highest since 2012, the national level of preparation for food self-sufficiency has become a more important topic. For this reason, the Food Tech Challenge to be held this year is receiving great attention from the UAE government as well as private investors. Participation in this competition is possible regardless of nationality, and if the final winner is selected, research and development support for project application, mentoring opportunities, etc. will be given along with a prize money.
Food security has become more important year after year, and given that the 2nd Congress was held, there is a possibility that it will be held periodically. Domestic startups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in related fields wishing to enter the UAE will also be able to try to advance into the UAE through this program.
In an interview with KOTRA Dubai Trade Center, Mr. K, CEO of Korean company A, who moved into the non-profit International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) in Dubai, said, “Korea’s agricultural technology is being evaluated as excellent in the local area. Therefore, like the Netherlands, which is an advanced smart farm, comprehensive plant-type exports such as facilities, materials, seeds, and manpower are likely to have a high chance of success.”
In addition, if it is unclear whether the above conditions are met among companies wishing to participate, or if you need in-depth questions, you can contact the Foodtech Challenge (info@foodtechchallenge.com).
Source: Foodtech Challenge, KATI, local media Gulf News, Zawya, Has Algae, QSMonitor, Red Sea Farms, SafetyNet Technologies and KOTRA Dubai Trade Center