#AbuDhabi Looks to Desert and Space Farming to Boost Food Supply - Bloomberg

Abu Dhabi Looks to Desert and Space Farming to Boost Food Supply - Bloomberg

Abu Dhabi is stepping up investment in projects for farming in the desert -- and even space -- as the Covid-19 crisis prompts more efforts to safeguard food supply.

The Abu Dhabi Investment Office will spend about $41 million with other companies to develop technologies for producing food in arid conditions. The partnerships include a greenhouse venture focused on growing fruit and vegetables with less water. ADIO will also work with a firm that uses the International Space Station to research producing food in space and extreme climates on Earth.

The pandemic has forced a rethink among many nations on how to feed their people. Oil-rich but water-scarce countries like the United Arab Emirates -- which imports as much as 90% of its food -- have been working on boosting domestic output and investing in farming abroad ever since food crises struck a decade ago. The coronavirus crisis is now accelerating those plans.

“What 2020 has brought to light is the need to improve self-sufficiency, to be more efficient with the resources that we do have,” Tariq Bin Hendi, director general of the ADIO, said in an interview. “It’s not just about growing crops, we are looking at this across the seed-to-plate ecosystem of agtech.”