Abu Dhabi Launches New Data Platform To Bolster Agriculture And Food Security

Under the guidance of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, ADAFSA has introduced the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Security Data Platform. This platform is designed to aid decision-making on food security and agriculture in Abu Dhabi. It serves as an advanced electronic gateway offering accurate information on various aspects of the agriculture and food sector.

The platform's comprehensive dashboard monitors over 335 indicators, supporting a flexible response to food emergencies, animal diseases, and agricultural pests. This enables early action to prevent supply chain disruptions and prepares for potential risks by developing scenarios and plans for managing crises and food emergencies.

This platform gathers extensive data related to agriculture, food, and food security. It includes local agricultural production data, trade and investment figures, future production forecasts, strategic food reserve levels, and rates of food loss and waste throughout the value chain.

Additionally, it tracks data on animal and plant health, pest control programmes, vaccination efforts against diseases, investment opportunities, and real-time updates. Over 200 dashboards display this data along with analytical reports and future forecasts to aid in planning and addressing threats based on actionable insights.

Saeed Al Bahri Salem Al Ameri, Director-General of ADAFSA, stated that launching this platform is crucial for promoting innovation in food security. By providing reliable data through an advanced digital platform, it supports policymakers and researchers in developing innovative solutions to enhance the agriculture and food sector's efficiency.

"We greatly appreciate the full support of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan for this important initiative," he added. "This support embodies the insightful vision of wise leadership that recognises the importance of food security in achieving stability and prosperity."

Strategic Partnerships

The platform was developed with input from 16 strategic partners from both public and private sectors. This collaboration ensures comprehensive data provision for agriculture and food sectors following best practices in data management. The goal is to support ADAFSA's priorities of ensuring food abundance, safety, and sustainable agricultural development.

The platform also includes a warning system for local, regional, and global risks. It develops scenarios for normal conditions as well as emergencies. Alerts are activated when there are changes in global or local prices of essential food items or production levels.

Forecasting Capabilities

The platform provides forecasts about production and consumption as well as supply-demand predictions for food commodities. It ensures accurate analysis of self-sufficiency levels by monitoring local production versus consumption ratios. Additionally, it analyses price trends for key commodities globally and locally along with import dependency rates for each category.

Moreover, alerts are triggered by changes in weather or diseases affecting local or international supplies. The ability to track biosecurity threats alongside environmental data supports decision-making in Abu Dhabi's agriculture and food sector.

This initiative aims to develop a sustainable, flexible integrated food system meeting Abu Dhabi's needs while enhancing rapid responses to mitigate any threats or risks to food security.

With inputs from WAM