At a session themed ‘Innovative Agri-preneurship through Digital Agriculture to Improve Farmers’ Livelihood in Rural Areas’, Her Excellency spoke about the UAE’s efforts that use innovation and agri-tech to support smallholder farmers and enhance their contribution to food security. She noted that innovative agricultural methods are the building blocks of sustainable food systems.

The Minister said: “The UAE realized the importance of utilizing innovations and agri-tech tools very early on because of its arid environment that provides less-than-favorable conditions for agriculture, such as scarce water supply and limited arable land. To overcome these obstacles, we are leveraging the latest technologies and incentivizing entrepreneurship in the food and agricultural sectors. Our journey has been truly remarkable, from simple irrigation systems and low-tech net houses to seasonal crops, all the way to today’s high-tech controlled-environment systems that enable us to grow a wide variety of produce year-round.”

Furthermore, Her Excellency highlighted the UAE’s agricultural projects in developing countries aimed at helping resource-limited and marginalized people in rural communities, particularly women and youth, achieve sustainable income as well as food and nutrition security.

In closing, she added: “We stand ready to share our expertise with other nations and help solve food security challenges around the world. We look forward to the outcomes of the G20 meeting that will go a long way in putting our agricultural sector on a sustainable path.”

The Minister also attended two other sessions, dedicated to building resilient and sustainable agriculture and food systems and promoting open, fair, predictable, transparent, and non-discriminatory agricultural trade to ensure availability and affordability of food for everyone.

The UAE is one of four guest countries, alongside Spain, Netherlands, and Singapore, invited by Indonesia to participate in the G20 Summit in November 2022 in Bali.