Water and Food Security in the UAE: Challenges and Solutions

This report analyzes the critical issues of water and food security in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It begins by emphasizing water's importance and the global disparity in food distribution, framing food security as access to safe and nutritious food. The report poses the research question: Are water and food security important to the UAE? It highlights the UAE's challenges in meeting food and water demands due to limited arable land and water resources. The report examines the factors influencing food and water security, including the reliance on imports and the impact of a growing population and climate change. The report also discusses the challenges related to food imports, including religious restrictions, transportation issues, and rising taxes. The report further explores the challenges faced by the UAE, such as restricted land use, desert conditions, and the impact of climate change, including drought and water scarcity. It then discusses short-term and long-term strategies to address these issues, including water reuse, wastewater treatment, and government subsidies. The report details the UAE's strategies, including trade relations, technological investments, and the promotion of mushroom and date palm cultivation. The report then evaluates the role of technological advancements and innovation. Finally, the report compares the UAE's food security with that of its peers, like Singapore and Norway, based on the Global Food Security Index, and the UAE's food security compared to its peers, highlighting the significance of the issues in each country.

Running head: WATER AND FOOD SECURITY
WATER AND FOOD SECURITY- TRANSCRIPT

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Slide 1: Topic Name and Presenter’s Name
Slide 2: Introduction
As we all know that water is one of the priceless and precious natural resources on Earth. It is
considered as life for the people and we require it for conducting all the activities in our life.
According to the Universal Declaration of Human Right of 1948, the right to adequate food is
conferred to each people living in the Earth, however; it is evident that there is a disparity in
the distribution of food especially in the developing and underdeveloped countries in the
world (Hameed et al.). The main reason because of which, such unequal distribution can be
seen in the ever-increasing population in the world. As per the stated definition, Food
Security is a phenomenon that exists when the people have access to social, physical and
economic resources thus, offering safe, nutritious and adequate food for meeting the dietary
content of daily life in order to lead a normal and productive life (Un.org). The number of
undernourished or malnourished people are increasing at a rapid rate indicating the issue of
food scarcity in the world irrespective of its development stage.
Slide 3:
The research question formulated in this assignment is: Are water and food security
important to UAE. Thus, the aim of the assignment is to highlight the issue of water and food
security faced by the country and the importance of the aspect within the country. As we are
all aware, of that, UAE is one of the developed and food secured countries in the world.
However, it can be found that it is facing the challenge of meeting the demand for water and
food due to various reasons. Thus, the evaluation of those reasons and approach used for
mitigating the issue will be addressed. Moreover, a comparison will be drawn with peers of
the UAE in terms of water and food security.
Slide 4:

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In this slide, I will discuss the factors leading to water and food security in the UAE and the
importance of the issue. The food and water security are made national policy in UAE
because of two significant factors; one is the limitation in arable land that restrict the
production of crops and limited water resources. According to report, UAE is one of the food
secured countries in the world because it has the economic stability of importing the majority
of its food supplies from national and international markets (Mbrsg.ae). It was found that in
2016, UAE had established a 20 storage tower with the help of AL-Dahra Holding Company
that covers an area of 45000 square meters in the Port of Fujairah to meet its water supply
(Agroberichtenbuitenland.nl). The issue of water and food scarcity is a long-term challenge
that affects the supply chain and production capability of the country.
Slide 5:
This is a continuation of the previous slide, which will state the statistical data related to the
issue in UAE. Extensive funding and investments are made by the country to address the
issue of food scarcity that supported in the availability and accessibility of food to the general
public. From the figure, it can be found that the UAE is currently facing a plethora of issues
that had disrupted the food security level (Ajaj, Shahin and Salem). The two major reasons
that contribute to such kind of disruption is the growing population of the country and the
drastic change in climatic condition. The summers are becoming hot and the scorching heat
has been responsible for destroying the crops. The food consumption rate is elevating at a rate
of 4% on an annual basis. The rise in population is expected to be 11 million by 2030 that
will exert tremendous pressure on the available food and water resources. The water
challenges are rising more due to lack of sufficient amount of groundwater and the high cost
involved in establishing a water production facility.
Slide 6:

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As stated in the previous slide that the food supply of the UAE depends on importation. The
limited supply in the food and water resources in the country have made it a public health
concern. As per the study of Fiaz, Noor and Aldosri, there is 80-90% of food imported and
thus, it is considered as the 4th country with respect to food affordability. However, there is a
serious restriction on the importation of food. Due to religious factors, 80% of the imports are
banned from entering the country because of the high percentage of pesticide residues present
in the products. Other issues in this particular aspect is a problem related to transportation and
the increase in tax by the government that had suddenly affected the supply of food.
Slide 7:
Due to the economic stability of the UAE, it can be observed that there is a high level of food
being wasted which ultimately lead to an increase in the price of food items. As we can
observe from the present context that the value of imported food has increased drastically. In
2011, the value of food was US$3 billion that will increase to US$ 8.4 billion in 2020 (Fiaz,
Noor and Aldosri). Therefore, it can be stated that the import of food is variable in nature
and it is highly dependent on the inconsistent and changing revenue of fossil fuel (Taha et
al.).
Slide 8:
In this slide, we will talk about the challenges faced by UAE related to this topic. The
problems related to food security is more critical in the UAE than other food secured
countries in the world. The reason for this is the restricted land usage and climatic factors.
The land available in the country are either used for meeting the housing demands of people
and the leftover land is not irrigable. The country is covered with the desert in most of the
areas; thus, left it unfertile in nature. The change in climatic condition is stated to be a grave
issue as with the continuous rise in temperature, the impact of global warming is prevalent in

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nature. It affected the country in term of drought, aridity, rise in sea level and water scarcity.
This is stated to be a precondition, which is vulnerable in nature and worsening the scenario
of water quality, contamination and scarcity. This also affects the domestic production level
of food and storage. One of the factors that need to be taken into consideration in this context
is the fluctuating price of oil and gas, which is considered as one of a most vital source of
revenue that affects the issue of food and water security. According to report, in the UAE,
only ten crops that are grown which are not sufficient in meeting the food demand of the
country (Mbrsg.ae).
Slide 9:
Alfarra stated that water supply is limited in the country because of the arid condition; there
are less rainfall and salinity level in the existing water body is high. Thus, it affects the
production of crops such as rice and wheat, which are the primary source of carbohydrate and
require a large amount of water for its cultivation.
Slide 10:
It is important to strategize on a long-term and short-term basis to address the issue. This will
help in the identification of the issue and addressing it effectively. The short and medium-
term basis, it can be stated that the food and water security can be protected by reusing and
recycling the water that will ensure that it is not wasted. Another important process that can
be used in this context is the treatment of wastewater that will ensure in improving the quality
of water used for domestic purposes. On a long-term basis, it can be stated that the issue
requires specific mitigation strategies that will confirm addressing the issue. The government
need to subsidies the importation charges in order to improve the supply of food within the
country. The use of water harvesting, increase in the cost of production of drinking water and
limiting the opportunities of treatment.

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Slide 11:
In this slide, we will discuss the ways and strategies undertaken by the UAE in order to
secure its water and food supplies. UAE has implemented a wide range of approaches in
order to ensure that the people get a sufficient amount of food and water supply throughout
the day. The trade relation with other exporting countries have been established, and
investment in the technological aspect is made that boosted the level of the food supply. The
production of non-staple vegetable is done by support from the government. The focus on
dairy and meat industry have been promoted that ensure that the supply is continuous and
supple in nature (Hassen and El Bilali).
Slide 12:
In this case, one of the most important steps undertaken by UAE is the promotion of growing
mushroom. Mushroom do not require any specific land and climatic condition and can be
grown quickly in closed environmental condition. Thus, 5000 kg of the crop is grown on a
daily basis for meeting the demand for food in the country (Alder et al.). Another critical food
production that is being focused by the framework of the UAE National Future Food Security
Strategy is date palm that helped in meeting the demand for food
(Agroberichtenbuitenland.nl). The investment is also made in water management and
extraction of groundwater to increase the supply level. The Agricultural Innovation Centre is
supporting the national innovation strategy that highlights the water issue and addressing it.
The government have funded on growing resilient crop such as quinoa and Water Security
Strategy 2036 have been proposed that will ensure effective access of water to the population
(Al Qaydi, Government.ae).
Slide 13:

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In this particular slide, the role of technological advancement and innovation with respect to
the issue will be evaluated. The use of disruptive technology has been applied in UAE for the
development of a model of integrated and inclusive strategy for addressing the issue. The
Ministry of UAE that wanted to integrate technology and innovation that have an influential
role in this particular context to promote this. UAE is considered as a logistic and
transportation hub that connects the western and eastern world; thus; the technological
advancement can be found to extremely high (Bichai, F., Grindle and Murthy). Several other
technological aspects that are being implemented in this cases hat effective assessment and
evaluation of the issue, collection of data and thus, mitigating it appropriately.
Slide 14:
For understanding the issue, it is important to conduct a comparison study that will help in
understanding the current position and scenario of UAE among its peer. According to the
report of the Food Security Index (FSI), UAE ranked 33287 with respect to food and water
security; thus, stating that it has certain issues related to these factors. One of the significant
peers of UAE is Singapore because both the countries have similarities in term of restricted
land usage for agriculture and dependence of importation to meet the food supply. It also uses
technology developed strategies that specifically address the issue related to water and food
scarcity that posed a high threat to economic stability.
Slide 15:
With respect to the ranking of FSI, Norway ranks 4th, Singapore 16th and UAE is 51st that
indicates that the issue is more significant in Norway and Singapore than the two countries. It
can be seen that Norway is the snow-covered location; as a result, the agriculture facilities are
inadequate and require high investment in order to grow crops. The average food supply of
Singapore is 65.7% that indicates that more than half of the food demand of the people is

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meet whereas in UAE, it is able to meet the lowest level of demand thus, and the food
scarcity issue is more predominant (Bichai, Grindle and Murthy). I have observed that in term
of technological development and R&D facilities, the ranking is lowest for both Norway and
UAE; however, Singapore is slightly advanced in this area as it had received rank 13.
Slide 16:
This is the concluding slide and I hope you are aware of the present scenario of food and
water security and its importance in UAE. Even though it is stated to be food secured;
however, it has challenges related to a sufficient supply of food and water to its people. The
concern is growing and the issue must be dealt collaboratively. It will have a severe impact
on the development level of the country thus, hindering its success rate. Therefore, the issue
needs to be addressed at the highest priority and use of technology and innovation need to be
used for mitigating the problem.

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Slide 17: References
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Dutch companies". Agroberichtenbuitenland.nl, 2020. Online. Internet. 8 Feb. 2020. .
Available: https://www.agroberichtenbuitenland.nl/actueel/nieuws/2019/01/31/uae-food-
security.
Ajaj, Rahaf M., Suzan M. Shahin, and Mohammed A. Salem. "The challenges of climate
change and food security in the United Arab Emirates (UAE): From deep understanding to
quick actions." Current Nutrition & Food Science 15.5 (2019): 422-429.
Al Qaydi, Saif. "The status and prospects for agriculture in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
and their potential to contribute to food security." Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences 12
(2016): 155-163.
Alders, Robyn G., et al. "A planetary health approach to secure, safe, sustainable food
systems: workshop report." Food Security 10.2 (2018): 489-493.
Alfarra, Amani. "Water-Energy-Food Nexus in the Arab Region." Water, Sustainable
Development and the Nexus: Response to Climate Change (2019): 74.
Al-Shayaa, M. Shayaa, Mirza B. Baig, and Gary S. Straquadine. "Agricultural extension in
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Difficult present and demanding future." J. Anim. Plant
Sci 22.1 (2012): 239-246.
Bichai, Françoise, Arani Kajenthira Grindle, and Sharmila L. Murthy. "Addressing barriers in
the water-recycling innovation system to reach water security in arid countries." Journal of
Cleaner Production 171 (2018): S97-S109.

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Fiaz, Sajid, Mehmood Ali Noor, and Fahad Owis Aldosri. "Achieving food security in the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through innovation: Potential role of agricultural
extension." Journal of the Saudi Society of Agricultural Sciences 17.4 (2018): 365-375.
Government.ae. "The UAE Water Security Strategy 2036 - The Official Portal of the UAE
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Hassen, Tarek Ben, and Hamid El Bilali. "Food Security in the Gulf Cooperation Council
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Taha, Sadi, et al. "Food safety knowledge among food handlers in food service
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Slide 18:
THANK YOU