World’s Largest Agri-Conference AgraME 2020 Starts in Dubai

AgraME Dubai 2020, world’s largest conference and exhibition on Agriculture issues and sustainable development goals has started in Dubai World Trade Centre, United Arab Emirates with the collaboration of the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, UAE from 3rd March and will continue till 5th March. Agri- professionals, farmers, Industrialists, scholars and government officials from across the globe has gathered for this huge conference which will basically highlight the current agriculture instability across the world and it’s solution, crops and food systems, innovation in agri-technology, vertical farming, food security and water scarcity, future of aquaculture, Aqua culture Planning for 2050, Seawater Energy, crop farming and Agriculture System Project, etc. 

With the collaboration of the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, UAE, the AgraME exhibition and conference is aimed to bring together the global Agriculture community to help achieve the SDG's in the Middle East. From finding the latest technology, learning best practice, sharing ideas and creating new Government to Government and Business to Business connections, AgraME aims to increase Food Security across the MEA region. 

You can also meet the Krishi Jagran team at Hall Z5.B25.

Tuesday, 3rd March 

OPENING

11:30 - 12:00

Keynote

H.E. Sultan Abdulla AlHebsi, Assistant Undersecretary of Regions Sector, UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment

12:00 - 12:30

Keynote: New Crops; New Food Systems

Dr. Ismahane Elouafi, Director General, ICBA – International Centre for Biosaline Agriculture 

 12.30 - 13.30

Break

AGRATECH

 13.30 - 13.40

Chair’s welcome

Christine Zimmermann-Lössl, Chairwoman, Vertical Farming Association

13.40 - 14:00

Keynote: Today’s agriculture is unsustainable: how can we lead the transformation?

• A picture of agricultural unsustainability, globally and in the ME region

• The most promising innovations in Agratech that will enable the change

• Examples of innovation, including NEOM and the Red Sea Farms

Mark Tester, Professor of Plant Science at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Executive Director of the Food Sector at NEOM and co-Founder of Red Sea Farms LLC

14.00 - 14.30

Setting up and operating vertical farms in the Middle East

• Lessons learned from the vertical farming industry: what not to do

• Reducing the IT burden with cloud-based systems

• Tackling the thorny challenge of ventilation

• Three ways to reduce your power and water consumption on a vertical farm

David Farquhar, CEO, Intelligent Growth Solutions

14.30 - 15.00

Break

15.00 - 15.20

Innovation in agro-technology: precision farming and controlled environment agriculture in the Middle East and Africa

• Focus on Food Security in the UAE and the region

• Sustainable farming methods to address the challenges of soil, water and temperature

• Experiences from recent projects and what we have learned from them

Hemant Julka, Co-founder and COO, VeggiTech 

15.20 - 15:50

Case study: The world’s largest vertical farm in Dubai: taking food production efficiency to the next level

• New sensors, IoT and automation technologies and how they will affect production efficiency

• Digital technologies employed along the supply chain to maintain freshness in the hot climate

• Which crops have performed well in the vertical farm environment and which have been abandoned?

• Lessons learned from the first months of operation

Ming Zhu, Regional Business Developer, Crop One

15.50 - 16:10

Innovations for combating water scarcity and food security in the Middle East

• Water scarcity in the Middle East and what it means for food security

• Implementing the Liquid Nano Clay in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi: aims, methods, and data

• The future role of new innovations in reducing agricultural water consumption

Atle Idland, General Manager and Managing Director, Desert Control Middle East

16:10

Close of Day One