Mega Food Events Aim to Encourage Sustainability and Innovation

The organizer Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) announces the launch of the brand-new sustainability-focused events GULFOOD GREEN & GULFOOD AGROTECH, set to take place 24-26 September 2024 at DWTC, to the hundreds of thousands of global community followers as the 28th edition of the world's largest Gulfood goes even larger and greener this year.

In order to achieve sustainability in all of its aspects, from farmers to supply chains, food production, logistics, and consumption, the inaugural GULFOOD GREEN 2024 event will provide an essential worldwide forum for the whole food ecosystem to communicate and exchange ideas. In addition to providing insights into alternative methods of food production, trade, and consumption, clean label products, eco-friendly packaging, plant-forward food production and consumption, and reducing food waste in the supply chain, it will speed up the sharing of cutting-edge, innovative concepts and products.

The need for food traceability and security, together with the adoption of cutting-edge technology, are expected to fuel the growth of the worldwide agritech market to $22.6 billion by 2025.

GULFOOD AGROTECH

By bringing together like-minded stakeholders from around the world to explore the creative solutions and transformative technologies necessary to address development challenges and advance the global transition to sustainable food systems, the year 2024 will inspire all sectors of the global agriculture and food supply chains to create a more sustainable food ecosystem for all.

On the first day of GULFOOD 2023, the UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment, Her Excellency Mariam Almheiri, addressed the crowd and said, "Innovation should be at the front and center of our food systems transformation. Using already existing technology and adding new ones would speed up the process and end food loss and food waste across the whole supply chain.

With present food systems responsible for a third of greenhouse gas emissions and a third of all produced food going to waste, Minister Almheiri emphasized the need of adopting and modifying technologies to encourage improved food-related behavior and create more sustainable food systems.

"The urgent need for, and momentous shift towards, more resilient and climate-supportive food production and consumption has led to the creation of a different event mission, to champion innovative ideas transforming our consumption behaviors and leading us to a more responsible and sustainable future," stressed Trixie LohMirmand, Executive Vice President, Dubai World Trade Centre, the organization that organizes GULFOOD. GULFOOD will provide the worldwide GREEN and AGROTECH movement the impetus to advance and catalyze the complexity and innovation of the circular food business because of its global significance and leadership in the global food economy.

She continued by saying that GULFOOD GREEN & GULFOOD AGROTECH is determined to inspire the creative thinking and cooperative action that will help increase yields, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and improve food security. This is done through outcome-focused exchanges, Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies and ideations, such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, and smart agriculture.

With a focus on the effects on poor nations, GULFOOD GREEN will highlight current concerns in sourcing disruption, production, transportation, logistics, distribution, technology, and innovation. The conference will offer a vital yearly forum for all F&B stakeholders from across the value chain to discuss the socioeconomic and environmental issues that exacerbate food insecurity and to exchange ideas, foresight, and achievements in tech development, international collaboration, and innovations with game-changing implications for the future of food access.

Venture capitalists invested USD 51.7 billion in agritech start-ups in 2021.

The need is evident from the investor side, with agrotech start-ups raising USD 8 billion in 2021 and a similar amount in 2022. 3 A platform that will link start-ups with venture capitalists, angel investors, incubators, accelerators, and innovation builders from across the world will be developed by GULFOOD AGROTECH.

During September 24–26, GULFOOD AGROTECH 2024 will co-occur with GULFOOD GREEN 2024, an event focusing on fostering environmentally friendly and sustainable food ecosystems. 2024 will see the convergence of new agricultural machinery, tools, methods, and practices, using, among other deep tech innovations, the fourth industrial technologies of AI, robots, and blockchain.