Food Security
Ensuring food security for generations to come
The UAE aims to achieve zero hunger by ensuring access to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round throughout the world by 2051.
The strategy aims to implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production and help maintain ecosystems.
OWI’s unique Food Security Strategic Vertical investment platform will extend to fighting hunger, malnutrition, and poverty by supporting resilient and sustainable agriculture in low-income countries that benefits and empowers poor and vulnerable smallholder farmers, particularly women. OWI, through its platform companies, will cost-effectively pool UAE capital and other multilateral funds to be allocated through a mix of public and private investment tools into needed, helpful, and catalytic food supply chain agriculture, food processing and manufacturing, etc.) opportunities to assist the UAE in becoming ranked No 1 in the global security food index by 2030.
OWI’s Agriculture and Food Security Strategic Vertical is UAE demand-led to ‘build a better future for its generations to come’. The focus will be partnering and investing in sustainable food supply chain partners who can contribute toward the UAE’s in-country demands and then distribute food-related commodities and products from or through the UAE, making it a hub. It also integrates e-commerce tools such as fintech and agritech, development of new agritech growing businesses and innovative trade financing models that strengthen strategic policy and reinforce UAE food supply chains. These combined elements deliver a genuinely sustainable food security model.
OWI’s Agriculture and Food Security Strategic Vertical is UAE demand-led to ‘build a better future for its generations to come’.
Global Food Security Index
The UAE is 21st as of 2019
Food Imports
The UAE imports 80% – 90% of its food
UAE food consumption
UAE food consumption 4.2% CAGR. Predicted 59.2 million metric tons 2021
UAE Population growth
UAE population to grow from 9.34 million (2019) to 11.5 million by 2025
The Role of Africa
Considering Africa’s trajectory over the next 50 years any food security strategy should include accessing food from Africa and partnering with and investing in food supply chain platform specialists who are Africa focused.
The research indicates that the UAE currently procures between 4-8% of its food products from sub-Saharan Africa.
In keeping with the long term strategy, there is a significant opportunity to increase Africa based food-related (food, fruit, vegetables, animal, etc.) exports into the UAE, especially and in particular from East Africa and South Africa due to the ease in the transport routes to the UAE.
The UAE has the ability to pack and fly goods anywhere in a 5 hour circle, reaching 75% of the global population.
Our Investment Focus
The OWI Food Security Strategic Vertical has been formulated to consider the entire food supply chain, and it focuses on investing in and partnering with platform companies that specialise in and across the following four pillars:
Fintech combined with Agritech
On a completely de-risked basis enables off-takers to, on a preferential basis, procure products from leading primary producers and where supply is guaranteed, and pricing control
Value Addition, Warehousing Logistics
Supply and demand are not found in the same place. A fair amount of the UAE basket of products will be produced outside of the country, e.g. apples or cooking oil. Targeted investments can achieve a repurposing (value addition through manufacturing, & processing) of trade flows to enhance food security and increase the country’s commercial activity.
Growing
Growing is ultimately the secure way to ensure certainty in supply whilst at the same time controlling pricing. The Growing pillar in time looks to invest directly in primary producing farms and growing technology. Agritech innovation is explicitly focused on bringing growing technology into the UAE to enable manufacturing and processing.
Trading
The buy/sell action in the supply chain takes place over multiple hops before the product is consumed. To successfully trade into and out of the UAE, large logistics, storage and suitable hedging strategies will be required to secure supply with minimal to no price risk.