The innovative agricultural practices cultivating an abundant, food-filled future
Global food and water supplies are increasingly under strain. With its new food cluster, Abu Dhabi is pioneering solutions.
The UN projects an additional two billion mouths to feed by 2050. At the same time, climate change is already placing unprecedented strain on food and water resources.
Finding ways to produce enough food for 10 billion people in an environment with increasingly limited access to fresh water is one of the most pressing challenges of our time.
Addressing this challenge requires solutions that reduce resource consumption in food production and enable innovative methods for producing fresh water.
That’s what Abu Dhabi’s AgriFood Growth and Water Abundance (AGWA) industrial cluster is on a mission to do. According to the cluster’s head, Fatima Al Dhaheri, AGWA could be instrumental in “shifting the global narrative on food and water from scarcity to abundance.”
Investing in abundance
Al Dhaheri envisions AGWA as a “home for food and water visionaries and disruptors from across the globe.” It aims to bring these diverse minds together to grow the food and water industry by 25x, far outpacing the rapid rate of population growth in Abu Dhabi and worldwide.
The cluster focuses on novel food and ingredients such as alternative proteins, precision fermentation for food and feed, onshore cultivation of protein-rich microalgae, innovative methods to transform traditional agriculture practices, and cutting-edge water technologies.
In 2045, AGWA is expected to contribute $25 billion to Abu Dhabi’s GDP, create 60,000 jobs, and attract $35 billion in investments. This will be achieved while developing crucial food and water security solutions and boosting overall global output.
To achieve this goal, Al Dhaheri says AGWA is applying “the same principles that have positioned Abu Dhabi as a premier destination for large conglomerates, pioneers, startups, and innovators worldwide” to food and water innovation. These principles include access to the emirate’s world-class digital and logistics infrastructure, a highly skilled talent pool, and abundant capital and energy resources.
It also means support and incentives from AGWA’s founding partners – the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) and Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) – alongside a consortium of regulators and state enterprises.
In this spirit of collaboration, AGWA residents are strongly encouraged to work together and engage with Abu Dhabi’s leading universities, research centers, and startups operating at innovation hubs like the global tech ecosystem, Hub71.
This combination of government backing, comprehensive infrastructure, and cross-collaboration creates fertile ground for innovation, which is already attracting the cluster’s first partners.
Head of Abu Dhabi’s AgriFood Growth and Water Abundance (AGWA) Cluster
Head of Abu Dhabi’s AgriFood Growth and Water Abundance (AGWA) Cluster
Innovating food production
NUOS (Nutrition Operating System) has developed a modular system for building a multipurpose precision fermentation facility, addressing the growing demand for sustainable food systems.
With support from Abu Dhabi's ecosystem, the Swiss company will soon construct a GigaFactory in the emirate. Al Dhaheri describes it as “one of the world's leading facilities for producing alternative proteins at scale.”
Alternative proteins require significantly less land and water to produce compared to livestock. Believer Meats is another company that has faith in AGWA’s enabling environment. The company aims to stimulate the commercial production of cultivated meat capabilities in Abu Dhabi as part of the new food cluster.
Head of Abu Dhabi’s AgriFood Growth and Water
Abundance (AGWA) Cluster
Head of Abu Dhabi’s AgriFood Growth and Water
Abundance (AGWA) Cluster
As a pioneer in cultivated meat, Believer Meats has captured the attention of large-scale investors like ADM, a global human and animal nutrition company. Partnering with businesses across the value chain, ADM aims to expand the protein ecosystem.
By establishing a presence in a sustainability-focused hub like Abu Dhabi, companies like NUOS and Believer Meats are positioning themselves for accelerated development to bring safe and nutritious meat products to market.
While such innovation is set to secure the future of food, AGWA will also support the vital development of water security solutions.
Securing fresh water
Water security is already a pressing issue in global resource supplies. “Nearly 703 million people lack access to water, representing one in ten people on the planet,” says Al Dhaheri. The problem is expected to worsen with climate change and population growth.
Reducing agricultural water use is imperative, as approximately 70% of the world’s freshwater is consumed by agriculture.
Abu Dhabi is positioning itself as a hub for innovative solutions in water-efficient food production. Al Dhaheri highlights the emirate’s achievements in “turning its desert green,” with more than 24,000 traditional farms often operating with minimal water.
However, finding new freshwater sources is equally essential as droughts become more common, especially as water-efficient cultivation techniques support the development of resilient food systems.
To address this, Al Dhaheri says that the food cluster will support developments in “reverse osmosis desalination, grey and black water recycling, and air to water solutions,” which produce potable water from seawater, wastewater, and the air around us, respectively.
The road to future food security
Food and water security are among humanity's most significant challenges in the coming decades. Overcoming these challenges requires a combination of solutions.
As Al Dhaheri notes, while high-tech solutions “may be feasible in some ecosystems,” traditional methods may remain more suitable elsewhere.
This recognition is crucial and indicative of AGWA’s multi-pronged, collaborative approach. With Abu Dhabi’s substantial resources backing it, the cluster has the potential to guide the world towards a future of abundance.
Head of Abu Dhabi’s AgriFood Growth and Water
Abundance (AGWA) Cluster
Head of Abu Dhabi’s AgriFood Growth and Water
Abundance (AGWA) Cluster
Learn how AGWA
is spearheading a food and
water security revolution.