All About Food Tech Valley and it's Four Clusters
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has launched the ‘Food Tech Valley’ a new initiative that seeks to triple the UAE’s food production.
To accelerate self-sufficiency in fresh food produce and reduce wastage of resources, Food Tech Valley, will support the use of technologies and applied research in food processing and agriculture and apply modern farming techniques – such as vertical farming, aquaculture and hydroponics.
The UAE's food trade exceeds AED100 billion annually. Our country is a global food logistics hub, and we will work to create a nurturing environment for agribusinesses to develop new farming technologies and enhance our future food security. pic.twitter.com/0H9MfFcc0B
— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) May 1, 2021
Food Tech Valley aims to achieve the objectives of the National Food Security Strategy 2051 and support a diversified knowledge-based economy.
Over 300 varieties of crops will be produced in the new city using modern farming techniques and the latest agri technologies.
Food Tech Valley will be home to four main clusters:
Agricultural technology and engineering, a food innovation centre, R&D facilities, and an advanced smart food logistics hub.
Agricultural technology and engineering cluster
The agricultural technology and engineering cluster will have a vertical farm that will employ the latest food technologies to grow year-round vital crops for future smart cities. The cluster will also be centred on developing innovative projects in bioengineering, automation, robotics and artificial intelligence and supporting capacity building across the food ecosystem.
A food innovation centre
The food innovation centre will provide an integrated agri-business ecosystem to nurture promising ideas and support start-ups and entrepreneurs. The cluster, which will have a specialised food factory to produce new foods and second-generation restaurants (restuarants 2.0), will explore a futuristic model that applies the highest standards of sustainability and production sufficiency to reduce consumption and wastage of resouces.
R&D facilities
The third cluster will have world-class R&D facilities to train food specialists and support food establishments. The facilities will explore the use of agri-robotics to maximise yields and drought-resistant crops. Specialised researchers will also explore the application of 3D printing in algae cultivation and alternative protein production.
The R&D facilities will also study the use of artificial intelligence to monitor, analyse and manage agricultural crops, and detect environmental impact and climate change. They will contribute to global food security research efforts by exploring successful saline agriculture, nutritional genomics, agricultural mechanisation and the use of drones in food production.
Food logistics hub
The fourth cluster will feature a fourth-generation food storage system that provides smart and automated logistical storage services.
The comprehensive smart storage system will apply block chain technologies and big data in sorting, transporting and distributing various food products. It will track food quality, origin, components, processing methods, storage and delivery to ensure efficiency of food supply chains.
Image Source: WAM
This article was previously published on UAE Moments.To see the original article, click here