Appliance of Science

Mass imports, a hostile climate and high wastage mean Gulf countries face multiple food security challenges. Can tech help to put more food on the table?

Food security is a worldwide concern taking different forms in each country. In the UAE, food availability is a challenge with little arable land, water scarcity, and an ever-increasing population. To relieve this pressure, the UAE is employing modern technology and innovative approaches to improve the availability of homegrown produce. The strategy includes launching numerous initiatives that utilise modern agricultural technology (AgTech) to find solutions to climate and environmental challenges of the current food systems.

Contending with limited freshwater, intense heat and sandy soil, farmers in Dubai can’t go about farming in the traditional sense, so Dubai’s International Center of Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) is creating solutions to boost local food production in the driest and hottest conditions. This not-for-profit has amassed a collection of over 13,000 highly nutritious crops that can adapt and survive in extreme weather conditions. Working with the land’s resources, their crops can grow using seawater and brine from desalination projects. Abu Dhabi’s ambitious Seawater Energy and Agriculture System (SEAS) project that aims at producing alternative aviation biofuel and seafood. The SEAS projects will bolster the economy by supporting the growth of multiple sectors such as aviation, oil refining, agriculture and aquaculture.

Dairy & Seafood Since human survival also depends on protein, another UAE-based farm provides fish for local supermarkets. Fish Farm, the UAE’s first organic aquaculture business, was founded in 2013 to grow a variety of foreign species and reduce the country’s reliance on imported products. It supplies supermarkets with sustainably farmed fish at practical price points, without the negative environmental impacts of open-sea farming.

Dairy is also a priority and to this end, Ain Farms, the official dairy Provider of EXPO 2020, founded by the Founding Father of the UAE, His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, was the first dairy company in the UAE to start dairy operations for the nation.

Continuing the path of sustainability and food security for 40 years, Al Ain Farms has grown to become the largest integrated local company in the UAE. The company runs four farms under its brand – dairy and juice, a camel milk production business, and its poultry unit that supplies fresh chicken and eggs. Locally produced in Al Ain, in the heart of the UAE, Al Ain Farms is playing a pivotal role in the country’s food security, with its products being delivered to all parts of the UAE daily.

In a recent development, the UAE, Jordan and the Netherlands have issued a joint call to work together on food, water and energy security by strengthening critical resources.

Government ministers, leading researchers and youth participated in person and online for a trilateral meeting during Expo 2020. Scientists and researchers are involved in the partnership to find innovative techniques and share data on growing crops in arid climates in the Middle East. and Mineral Resources of Jordan, said collaboration and collective action would increase understanding of the interdependent relationships between water, energy, and food security.

“In the coming decades, the world will need increasing amounts of resources. Population growth, resource-intensive lifestyles, and the damaging effects of climate change will lead to water, energy, and food insecurity across the globe,” he said.

To add to the many positive developments, the recently launched Food Tech Hub in Dubai seeks to triple the UAE’s food production. The iconic hub building, shaped like a sheaf of wheat includes a smart food logistics hub, R&D facilities as well as agricultural technology and engineering labs.

A beacon of innovation and design for the modern world, the UAE looks well set towards achieving its goal of self-sufficiency while conserving essential resources.

His Highness Sheik Mohammad:

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.

FLYING HIGH

- three decades on

In the same year that Concorde made its first commercial flight, Astron Engineering Limited took off and, unlike the British/French project, has been flying ever since.

Astron’s fortunes have been on a steady, upward trajectory since its establishment by Tom O’Dowd in 1977 and over the last three decades it has become a go-to firm for discerning customers at home and abroad seeking bespoke food display equipment.

From its headquarters in Rathnew, Co. Wicklow, the O’Dowd-led firm has grown and developed to establish an unrivalled reputation in its field.

As the company’s current Managing Director, the aforementioned O’Dowd still has his hands on the tiller some 44 years on from giving oxygen to his brainchild. He has overseen many changes concerning his firm and the industry itself since the time he first entered the market place subcontracting to bigger refrigeration companies.

Less than 10 years after coming into being, Astron Engineering developed a significant relationship with Superquinn. The Garden County outfit began designing and installing custom made Salad Bars to each of Superquinn’s stores and business quickly mushroomed.

With continued research and development over the years, Astron Engineering consolidated its solid foundations to evolve and become one of Ireland’s leading manufacturers of Salad Bars and food display equipment, working with and supplying numerous cabinets to some of the largest retailers in Ireland, the UK and UAE.

The noughties marked another landmark move by Astron when, in 2008, the company exported its first self-serve Salad / Juice Bar to Dubai, with the help of an independent Middle East salesperson. The response to the Salad / Juice Bar was very well received and led to more orders. As a consequence of this, O’Dowd and co. decided to begin supplying directly to customers in the Middle East so as to ensure better quality of service. In 2010 Astron Engineering formally began exporting its products directly to its new customers abroad.

With a go-ahead, united and ambitious team, Astron has amassed a peerless reputation due to the quality, durability, reliability, functionality and aesthetic appeal of its bespoke cabinets. Add in the company’s supremely personable customer service - from conception to completion and beyond – and the firm’s winning formula becomes all the more apparent.

Customers love the intimacy, comfort and convenience that comes with Astron’s ability to design and manuafactured onsite at its workshop in Rathnew. But to keep ahead of the posse, Astron continues to research intensely the most durable, cost efficient and environmentally friendly components to construct its cabinets. Pointedly, each cabinet is tested to European Standards before it leaves the company’s workshop.

Astron’s workforce is not one that wishes to rest on its laurels and it is acutely aware that a retailer strives to offer quality fresh produce while still offering value for money. So at Astron Engineering top quality, energy efficient cabinets are offered to the customer; cabinets which also provide easy access and keep food fresher for longer.

Repeat custom is, of course, a key to any manufacturer’s success story and Astron Engineering prides itself on building a long-lasting relationship with such marquee customers as Dunnes Stores, Musgrave Group (which includes SuperValu and Centra), Spar, Fresh, Gino’s Gelato, James Whelan Butchers, Sheridan’s Cheese to name a few Irish retailers and Geant, Lulu & Nesto in the UAE.

Astron Engineering Limited can be contacted at: Milltown North, Charvey Lane, Rathnew, Co. Wicklow, Tel: 00353 (0)404 69215, Email: info@astroneng.ie