DAY 1 - Setting the Vision: From Food Security to Food Sovereignty - GT (Gulf Time, GMT+04:00)
Forward-looking keynote on reducing import dependency and building sustainable, resilient food ecosystems across the GCC and MENA region.
- Risks of over-reliance on global supply chains and geopolitical disruptions
- Development of strategic food reserves and local production hubs
- Role of sovereign wealth funds and long-term investments
- Balancing economic growth, environmental sustainability, and food security
Policy-driven keynote illustrating how governments are crafting long-term national food strategies aligned with climate, water, and economic priorities.
- Integrating water, energy, and agriculture into national planning
- Creating frameworks for public
- Private partnerships in food security- Establishing KPIs and resilience metrics to track impact
- Addressing climate change, population growth, and urbanization pressures
High-level discussion connecting production, logistics, and consumption to create resilient regional food systems.
- Mapping infrastructure gaps across production, processing, and distribution
- Encouraging regional collaboration to stabilize food availability and pricing
- Identifying scalable models for GCC and neighboring regions
- Aligning policy and private sector initiatives for maximum impact
Examines how agriculture systems can adapt to extreme weather and climate variability to ensure continuous food production.
- Climate-resilient crops and innovative seed technologies
- Trade-offs between controlled environment agriculture and open-field farming
- Risk mitigation using predictive analytics and real-time monitoring
- Lessons from regions already facing extreme climate conditions
Addressing financial mechanisms necessary to scale food security infrastructure and de-risk investments in agriculture.
- Sovereign-backed agricultural investment platforms
- Blended finance models for public-private risk mitigation
- Return-on-investment expectations versus long-term resilience outcomes
- Strategies to attract institutional investors into food systems
- Structuring ESG and green finance for water- and energy-efficient operations
- Designing sustainability-linked KPIs and pricing mechanics for agri borrowers
- Monetising agriculture credits with credible MRV and integrating revenues into term sheets
Reveals how GCC sovereign entities strategically invest globally to secure reliable food supply chains.
- Strategic land acquisitions and international farming projects
- Securing trade routes and long-term supplier agreements
- Mitigating geopolitical risks and disruptions
- Lessons learned from supply chain shocks during crises
Focuses on holistic resilience, linking farms to distribution and end consumers.
- Connecting production, processing, logistics, and retail
- Infrastructure requirements for system-wide resilience
- Regional scaling models and replication strategies
- Using data-driven decision-making to optimize outcomes
Explores the role of digital technologies in optimizing agricultural productivity and supply chain efficiency.
- Predictive analytics for crop yield forecasting
- AI applications in logistics, inventory management, and demand planning
- Smart farming solutions to reduce waste and improve productivity
- Integrating real-time data for decision-making across the food ecosystem
Examines pros and cons of technology-driven vs traditional food storage in extreme environments.
- Cost vs efficiency analysis of modern vs traditional storage systems
- Energy consumption and operational considerations
- Hybrid models combining technology and traditional methods
- Regional suitability and scalability
Shows how integrating water, energy, and agriculture infrastructure can drive resilient food systems in arid regions.
- Efficient irrigation and desalination techniques
- Energy-efficient cold chain and storage options
- Measuring sustainability metrics and ROI
- Policy and investment considerations for integrated solutions
Strategies to ensure reliable food distribution under extreme climate conditions.
- Identifying gaps in logistics and cold chain infrastructure
- Resilient transport strategies and regional trade integration
- Private-public collaboration for robust distribution networks
- Risk mitigation and future-proofing supply chains