- MOCCAE’s H.E. Mohammed Saeed Al Nuaimi says the National Food Security Strategy 2051 is being updated with the private sector, with half of crop production to come from within the UAE
- BEEAH Group CEO H.E. Khaled Al Huraimel highlights the group’s aim to double its 30-megawatt waste-to-energy plant
- Tathmeer Agri Tech Center CEO Layth Ibrahim Dwairi: “Food security is collective action and agritech’s time has come.”
Sharjah, October 15, 2026
Government officials and business leaders highlighted the UAE’s target of producing 50% of its crops locally, alongside Sharjah’s achievement of a 93% landfill waste diversion rate and plans to double the capacity of its waste-to-energy plant, which currently produces 30 megawatts, during the “Growing a Sustainable Future” session at Sharjah Investment Forum (SIF 2026). The discussion also explored opportunities for collective investments in agricultural technology, artificial intelligence and resource management to advance sustainability.
Held as part of the ninth edition of SIF, organised by the Sharjah FDI Office (Invest in Sharjah) in collaboration with the UAE Ministry of Investment, the session brought together H.E. Mohammed Saeed Al Nuaimi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment; H.E. Khaled Al Huraimel, Group CEO and Vice Chairman of BEEAH Group; and Layth Ibrahim Dwairi, CEO of Tathmeer Agri Tech Center. Layan AbuShkier, Editor and Researcher at Forbes Middle East, moderated the discussion.
Food security: policy built with investors
Al Nuaimi said the UAE is updating its National Food Security Strategy 2051 in collaboration with the private sector, with a target of producing 50% of the country’s crops locally. He said achieving that target would require greater use of smart farming systems, including indoor farming and hydroponics, while reducing emissions associated with traditional agriculture.
“Our policies are set around current and future challenges, and they must align the government, the private sector and farmers themselves,” Al Nuaimi said. “We want farmers to move from a traditional mindset to a commercial one. Ten or 15 years ago, investment went into sustainability and energy. Now the time is for agritech. It is the right investment for the coming decade, and the UAE will serve as a hub for the region.”
Waste as a revenue stream
Al Huraimel meanwhile highlighted BEEAH’s integrated model – one that combines waste recovery, recycling and energy conversion and how that approach has made them the largest waste management company in the UAE, achieving a landfill diversion rate of 93% in Sharjah, the highest, he said, in the Middle East.
“We don’t treat sustainability as an obligation or a cost centre. It is an opportunity,” said the Group CEO of BEEAH whose waste-to-energy plant, which currently produces 30 megawatts of energy, will double in size to supply all the power for a new community being developed by the Sharjah company’s real estate arm. “Everything we do has a financial return. The next big opportunity is integrating AI with the physical environment: AI vision to segregate waste and monitor city cleanliness, and digital twins of our businesses so we can test and move faster. What once took big teams and big investment can now be done in a fraction of the time.”
Al Huraimel also indicated how the company has already expanded into Saudi Arabia and Egypt with plans to announce more markets soon.
Technology made for the region
Dwairi spoke about Tathmeer as the first platform to receive approval from the Securities and Commodities Authority for agricultural crowdfunding. Its new technology centre in Sharjah tests and validates farming technologies before linking farmers to them and to supply chains.
“Twenty or 30 years ago the farmer asked whether any technology could help. Today the question is which technology will help,” Dwairi said. “Sharjah is where we grew and where the idea was incubated. Our goal is to build technology here that understands our environment and our culture. Food security is collective action, and after 27 years in this business, I can say agritech’s time has come.”
The two-day annual forum is being held at Sharjah’s Al Jawaher Reception and Convention Centre under the theme ‘Building Adaptive Economies’ by the Sharjah FDI Office (Invest in Sharjah) in collaboration with the UAE Ministry of Investment.
The two-day forum featured more than 80 speakers and over 140 activities, including 80 direct business meetings designed to facilitate connections between investors, companies and decision-makers.
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