Dubai sets out a food plan to 2030: more local produce, less waste

The Dubai Environment and Climate Change Authority (DECCA) has set out the Dubai Food Security Strategy 2030, approved by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai. Its stated aims are safe, healthy and affordable food for everyone in the emirate, more food grown locally and less of it thrown away.

The plan has five initiatives: sustainable local production, including fisheries, livestock and cooperatives for small farmers; stronger supply chains through more import sources and partnerships with importers of key goods; healthier and more sustainable eating, with a food waste programme and a study of how residents consume food; better rules, governance and investment, including an upgraded Food Security Platform and an information platform for agritech investors; and a food system that can adapt, through research with partners abroad.

DECCA's Food Security Department will run the strategy with federal and local government bodies and private companies.

Nothing changes in the shops yet: no new prices, rules or programmes for households have been announced. The parts residents are most likely to see first are the food waste programme and the consumption study, and the authority has not yet said when or how people can take part.