Abu Dhabi to host world experts at ‘game changing’ agricultural forum
Global Forum for Innovations in Agriculture to Gather World Leaders in Sustainable Agriculture.
The Global Forum for Innovations in Agriculture (GFIA), the world’s largest showcase of game-changing innovations in sustainable agriculture, is to be held in Abu Dhabi from February 3-5 2014, under the theme ‘Driving Innovation for an Agricultural Revolution.’
The world will have to feed 9 billion people by 2050. To do so will require a wave of innovations and new technologies that will drive the future of global agriculture. GFIA has been created to help address this challenge.
The pioneering event, held under the Patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nayhan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs of the UAE, is bringing together leading innovators, investors, food producers, retailers, governments, scientists, NGOs and agricultural organisations for the first time in one location. It seeks to highlight the sustainable agriculture initiatives and innovations being planned and deployed across the world to increase food security and safeguard future sources of home-grown food, particularly in regions characterized by water shortages and unfertile land.
GFIA Project Director Mark Beaumont said: “The Global Forum for Innovations in Agriculture will present the world’s largest collection of sustainable agriculture inventions and pool together the highest level of experts, investors and suppliers to show the world how big ideas can be used to boost food production and solve the world’s ever increasing food needs.”
“The GFIA agenda was designed by a steering committee of 20 international experts in the fields of academia, R&D, science, industry and investment. We will showcase over 150 innovations from over 45 countries as part of the program, which we hope will create lasting change in the way agriculture is practiced,” continued Beaumont.
The event will be held in strategic partnership with the Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority. Mohamed Jalal Al Rayssi, the Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority’s Director of Communication and Community Service, commented on the relevance of the event for the UAE and the region: “The leadership of the UAE has placed the full weight of its resources and political will behind taking a leading role in the movement to design and implement sustainable agricultural initiatives in arid and semi-arid regions.”
“Our goal is to unite the Middle East behind sustainable solutions for food security and to harness new technologies for our desert landscape. GFIA is key to facilitating knowledge transfer and to demonstrating the investment opportunities available to regional and international stakeholders,” added Al Rayssi.
Dr. Faisal Awawdeh, Regional Coordinator of The International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), one of GFIA’s Foundation Partners, applauded the initiative. “This conference is the largest gathering of innovators in agriculture to date in the world, and a timelier event could not be imagined. Solutions in agriculture represent the difference between a future characterized by famine and uneven development, and one where sustainable access to food and responsible stewardship of the land mean that no one will go hungry,” said Dr Awawdeh.
“The conference program is geared toward solving urgent problems, in the company of some of the world’s foremost experts in the field. As the first and largest sustainable agriculture gathering in the world, we expect GFIA to pave the way for an agricultural revolution.”
The multi-faceted event will feature an exhibition and conference, comprising keynote sessions, panel discussions, an African Ministerial debate and 150 presentations; an incubator zone sponsored by the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise and Development, which will provide a low-cost space for UAE and international entrepreneurs to showcase their ideas and prototypes; an Innovation Zone curated by the University of Arizona, where working models of some of the most inspiring innovations in agriculture today will be featured; technical tours to a range of sustainable agriculture projects in the UAE; a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Farmer Focus, where a dedicated program will educate GCC farmers on the benefits of sustainable agriculture; and an NGO Zone, where NGOs, development agencies and charitable foundations can meet and share ideas.
About GFIA
Held February 3-5, 2014, under the Patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nayhan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs of the UAE, the Global Forum for Innovations in Agriculture (GFIA) will be the world’s largest showcase of innovations in sustainable agriculture.
With the key theme of ‘driving innovation for an agricultural revolution,’ GFIA will highlight the sustainable agriculture initiatives being planned and deployed around the world, facilitate knowledge transfer and demonstrate available investment opportunities. The GFIA agenda was designed by a steering committee of 20 international experts in the fields of academia, R&D, science, industry and investment.
The GFIA programme includes:
- Exhibition and conference: keynote sessions, panel discussions, an African Ministerial debate and 150 presentations.
- Incubator zone (sponsored by the Khalifa Fund): a low-cost space for UAE and international entrepreneurs to showcase their ideas and prototypes.
- Innovation Zone (curated by the University of Arizona): display of working models of some of the most inspiring innovations in agriculture today.
- Technical tours to a range of sustainable agriculture projects in the UAE
- GCC Farmer Focus: a dedicated programme to educate GCC farmers on the benefits of sustainable agriculture
- NGO Zone: dedicated area for NGOs, development agencies and charitable foundations to meet and share ideas across sectors
GFIA will be held in strategic partnership with the Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority, with the University of Arizona as Knowledge Partner. Sponsors include the Khalifa Fund and Islamic Development Bank.