The Middle East: the agritech challenge balancing innovation and food security

Translated by Mariateresa Tauro

Agritech – the range of technologies applied to agriculture to improve its efficiency, yield and sustainability – is becoming an increasingly important sector in the Middle East. And it is not hard to see why: in a region where water is scarce, fertile soil is limited and extreme temperatures make farming a challenge, producing food has never been easy. In addition to this, the effects of climate change are making an already fragile balance even more precarious. In this context, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are emerging as two of the most promising hubs for agritech innovation, focusing on solutions designed to boost productivity and reduce water consumption.

First and foremost, new irrigation and cultivation systems are among the most significant technologies. One of the best-known methods is hydroponics, i.e. soil-less cultivation: plants grow in nutrient-enriched water or on inert growing media, without the need for traditional soil. This allows for much more precise control of growing conditions and, above all, prevents water from seeping into the soil. In Saudi Arabia, the Qassim region has become a major hub for advanced hydroponics, whilst in the UAE, Emirates Hydroponics Farms, located between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, is a leading player in the sector. This method can drastically reduce water consumption whilst boosting productivity.

Even more sophisticated is aeroponics, a technique in which the roots are immersed in neither water nor soil, but remain suspended in the air and are misted with a nutrient-rich solution. The underlying principle is simple, even though the technology that makes it possible is far from straightforward: providing the plant with exactly what it needs, when it needs it, whilst minimising waste.

Another development worth noting concerns biosaline agriculture. In this case, the aim is to use salt water or partially desalinated water rather than deplete the already limited supplies of fresh water. This is where the International Centre for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA), based in the United Arab Emirates, comes into play. It is a non-profit research centre specialising in agricultural challenges related to salinity and water scarcity, dedicated to developing solutions designed for extreme environmental conditions. At the same time, companies such as Red Sea Farms have developed greenhouses capable of using salt water to cool the environment and grow varieties suited to particularly harsh conditions. In other words, the aim is to turn a structural limitation into an asset.

AI-based systems round off the picture. When we talk about AI in agriculture, we are referring to very practical tools: sensors, monitoring of moisture and nutrient levels, data collection, and automated irrigation. The system therefore monitors crop conditions in real time and regulates water use with greater precision, thereby reducing waste, leaks and unnecessary interventions.

Whilst these systems are transforming the way we irrigate and grow crops, vertical farming is directly changing the very area of agricultural production. Vertical farming involves growing crops on overlapping levels, often in enclosed, fully controlled environments. In these facilities, light, temperature, humidity and nutrients are artificially controlled to ensure consistent production even in adverse weather conditions. Dubai Industrial City is home to Badia Farms’ large-scale, high-tech vertical farming operation, one of the sector’s leading companies in the UAE. In Saudi Arabia, too, vertical farming is advancing rapidly, as demonstrated by the Riyadh Indoor Vertical Farming project, the country’s largest automated indoor vertical farm and the tallest in the MENA region.

Alongside advanced irrigation systems and vertical farming, one technology in particular stands out for its symbolic significance: LNC, which stands for Liquid Natural Clay, is presented as a solution capable of transforming deserts into fertile land. Developed by the start-up Dubai Desert Control, this technology involves injecting nanoparticles of liquid clay and water into the soil, enabling the sand to retain moisture and nutrients more effectively. A solution of this kind aims not only to make arid areas productive, but also to improve food security and, in the long term, to help absorb CO₂.

It is worth noting that the reasons behind this rush into agritech are both economic and geopolitical. The first concerns food safety. Many countries in the Middle East are heavily dependent on food imports. This dependence inevitably makes them vulnerable to logistical disruptions, global crises and geopolitical tensions. Recent years have made this abundantly clear: the pandemic, wars and supply chain disruptions have shown that having financial resources is not enough if food is imported from abroad and trade routes are cut off. From this perspective, investing in agritech means shortening supply chains, strengthening national resilience and reducing the risk of external shocks.

The second reason is linked to the economic model. The Gulf States have long recognised the limitations of economies that are overly dependent on hydrocarbons. Agritech is thus part of a broader diversification strategy: to develop a high-tech sector capable of attracting investment, creating skilled jobs and generating exportable know-how. The aim is to export agricultural technologies designed for extreme climates, turning an environmental vulnerability into a potential competitive advantage.

Finally, the rise of agritech fits seamlessly into major national strategic programmes. In Saudi Arabia, Vision 2030 aims at building a more dynamic society, a stronger economy and a more efficient state, with a strong focus on innovation and sustainability. In the UAE, the ‘We the UAE 2031’ Vision emphasises sustainable economic growth, technological advancement, resource efficiency and the strengthening of the knowledge economy. In both cases, high-tech agriculture fits perfectly into this framework.

After all, this is precisely the core of the matter. The Gulf states are not investing in agritech simply to grow crops in the desert, but because the political, economic and environmental context has exposed them to vulnerabilities that can no longer be ignored: climate change, water scarcity, the fragility of supply chains, geopolitical instability and the need to reduce their dependence on oil. Against this backdrop, moving towards a more sustainable and technologically advanced form of agriculture seems less like a futuristic gamble and more like a choice that is becoming increasingly difficult to put off.

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