Davos 2022: Dubai’s MBRGI and WEF partner to support food innovation

Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI) signed an agreement with the World Economic Forum to create a global platform for Food Innovation Hubs on the sidelines of the annual WEF summit in Davos.

The new platform will "contribute to focusing and accelerating the scope of innovation to improve food production mechanisms around the world", the UAE Government Media Office said in a statement on Monday.

It will enhance joint international scientific and research co-operation on food through an exchange of knowledge, experience and data to develop local food production systems and support national and global food security strategies.

WEF established the Food Innovation Hubs initiative with public, private and civil society partners to transform the way food is produced and consumed.

The agreement confirms Dubai as the international headquarters for the hubs’ annual meeting.

MBRGI will also join the Food Innovation Hubs steering committee and the supervisory board of WEF's Food Systems Initiative.

“MBRGI is one of the largest institutions, regionally and globally, to battle hunger and malnutrition, and provide less fortunate communities with food support,” Mohammad Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and secretary general of MBRGI, said.

Addressing global food challenges requires international innovation accelerators which can develop modern solutions, he said.

A UAE delegation of government ministers and leaders in the public and private sectors is presenting the country’s vision at the annual WEF meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

The UAE aims to promote global co-operation and participate in designing new work models to improve societies, officials said.

It is working on the National Food Security Strategy 2051, devised to support the use of smart technology in sustainable food production at every stage of the supply chain.

The three-year co-operation agreement signed between MBRGI and WEF will support the UN’s 2030 sustainable development goals, especially the second goal of ending hunger, the statement said.

“Approximately 800 million people across the globe suffer from hunger or malnutrition,” said Saeed Al Eter, assistant secretary general of MBRGI.

“The crises that the world has witnessed during the past few years have directly affected supply chains, especially in the food sector, which underlines the urgent need to develop systems, options and alternatives to enhance food production at national levels, and provide interconnected and effective food safety nets locally and globally.

“The world’s population is expected to reach 9.7 billion people by 2050. In this context, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives’ support for the establishment of the Global Platform for Food Innovation Hubs, which will be present in 17 global cities on five continents by 2030, is designed to achieve a sustainable future for food production, contribute to meeting the demand in present and future.”

The new platform is intended to accelerate solutions to food system challenges, support their development, improvement and transformation, enable learning, knowledge transfer and strengthen partnership to support innovation in food systems.

The platform also supports increasing investments and promoting financing mechanisms to enhance flexibility in food systems locally and globally.

It will identify the main initiatives available and expand their scope in countries that focus on developing innovation ecosystems to build healthy food systems that are more comprehensive, efficient and sustainable.

The platform also seeks to boost entrepreneurship that supports the goals of the Food Innovation Hubs, the statement said.