The GCC imports 85% of its food – here’s how it is increasing food security through innovation

Despite being among the most food-secure countries globally, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries import up to 85% of their food. The 2022 Global Food Security Index ranks all six GCC countries – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – in the top 50 for food security, thanks to their relative wealth and strategic import policies. However, they face a food security dilemma: The majority of their food is imported, including staples like rice and cereals, and to a certain extent meat and vegetables.

With continued volatility impacting global supply chains and affecting the Gulf, the region must look to domestic food production while contending with water scarcity, limited arable land and rising temperatures. GCC nations are turning these challenges into opportunities through ambitious domestic production strategies, reducing import dependency and creating thousands of agritech jobs.

Governments in the GCC are acting rapidly to reduce their reliance on overseas food sources by increasing national and local food supply. During the COVID pandemic, this included immediate measures for farmers, workers and agribusinesses to strengthen supply chains. However, the region has recognized the need to bolster this with long-term, sustainable measures to safeguard food supply against future shocks.

Key to this is a new, unified GCC regional food security strategy. The aim is to develop agricultural, livestock and fishery projects that will achieve food security and sustainability, adding about $30.5 billion to the Gulf economy. It is boosted by a $3.8 billion investment in food technology across the GCC countries. The agriculture and fisheries sector now contributes 1.8% to the gross domestic product, and the number of Gulf companies in the agricultural and livestock sector has grown by 20%.

However, GCC governments are also embracing partnership with the private sector. Government initiatives combined with fruitful public-private partnership projects will add further value to agriculture, the food industries and supporting sectors. For example, Saudi Arabia aims to localize 85% of its food processing in 11 domestic “clusters” by 2030. The Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) is also actively working with the private sector, having signed a joint venture with US agriculture company AeroFarms to build and operate indoor vertical farms across the Middle East and North Africa.

In Oman, $4.2bn is being invested to build Saham Agricultural City; its 65 sq kilometres is earmarked for agriculture and urban development to support 30,000 farmers in the region and provide food for 25,000 people annually.

In 2010, the Kingdom of Bahrain launched the National Initiative for Agricultural Development (NIAD). Among its aims is to unify efforts and investment from both public and private sectors for sustainable agricultural development. To that end it has provided agricultural training and awareness programmes and developed an agricultural database, Agro BH, to centralize data, encourage investment, and support research and development in Bahrain's agricultural sector.

Technology and innovation are increasingly playing a larger role in agriculture and are crucial to sustainably feeding a projected global population of 10 billion by 2050. Six rising foodtech megatrends have been identified by the France-based Digital Food Lab, including: the resilient farm, sustainable proteins, the smart supply chain, and food automation.

Agritech investments are on the up across the GCC region. Food Tech Valley in Dubai is a technology hub designed to foster clean, tech-based food and agricultural products as part of efforts to triple the UAE’s food production and increase agricultural resilience. In 2024, it entered into agreement with ReFarm to build a high-tech, waste-to-value gigafarm capable of growing more than 3 million kilograms of produce annually with on site food waste recycling. Breaking ground in 2024, it aims to be operational by 2025 and could replace 1% of the UAE’s food imports from just over 80,000 sq metres using smart AI-driven vertical farming technology.

In Bahrain, Edamah’s strategic partnership with Badia Farms will see the latter lease 50,000 sq metres of land to produce fresh fruit and vegetables using advanced hydroponic farming techniques. Saham Agricultural City in Oman will also use advanced automated farming technologies like hydroponics and aeroponics, irrigation, cooling systems and shade to support resilient farming in hot climates.

Among other foodtech initiatives in the GCC, Qatar is investing heavily in alternative, sustainable protein technology, from insect farming to cultured meat research and production, and the new Saudi Arabian innovation city of NEOM is aiming to produce 600,000 metric tonnes of sustainable food by 2030. The city serves as a testbed and agritech accelerator for innovative farming technologies, like automation and robotics. Its production of fruit and vegetables, alternative meat and dairy products, as well as aquaculture and grain farming, will help Saudi Arabia achieve food independence.

Agricultural technology and innovation development requires a thriving entrepreneurial community. According to Tracxn, there are currently 1,301 food and agriculture tech startups in the GCC.

GCC countries have put in place programmes and projects to support that ecosystem. In Bahrain, NIAD has established the King Hamad Prize for Agricultural Development, while Tamkeen, which provides support for entrepreneurial individuals and enterprises, has developed private-sector programmes to grow the agriculture sector, including special projects, strategic partnerships and more.

In the UAE, the Ministry of Climate Change and the Environment launched the Food and Agriculture Entrepreneurs Programme. This will help young farmers and agricultural entrepreneurs receive training in managing sustainable agriculture and livestock projects, and give them access to strategic partners from the private sector. Similarly, the Emirates Development Bank (EDB) launched the AGRIX Accelerator. It will empower smallholder farmers and provide access to advanced agricultural technologies, strategic business insights and sustainable farming practices.

These initiatives collectively aim to strengthen the GCC agricultural sector by providing financial support, fostering technological innovation, and implementing policy reforms to create a sustainable and resilient agricultural ecosystem in the region.