THE global agricultural landscape shifted its focus to the United Arab Emirates as the inaugural Growtech Middle East 2026 exhibition officially launched at the prestigious Dubai World Trade Centre. Evolving from AgraME, which built a proud 17-year legacy as the region’s longest-running agricultural trade fair, the rebranded Growtech Middle East represents a strategic leap forward in global market expansion and effective development. Organized by Informa Connect, a subsidiary of Informa PLC and backed heavily by the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, the premier three-day event took over Hall 8, instantly transforming the trade floor into a high-energy, international B2B marketplace. The mega-exhibition reportedly brought together near 10,000 registered industry professionals, international experts and 150 elite exhibitors spanning more than 80 countries. Driven by an accelerating regional drive toward sustainable food systems, the bustling lanes showcased advanced farming solutions, smart irrigation networks and precision greenhouse technologies aligned tightly with the UAE National Food Security Strategy 2051.
The exhibition opened with a high-profile ceremony led by Marwan Bin Ghalita, Director General of Dubai Municipality and Sultan Salem Saif Al Shamsi, Director General of the UAE National Agriculture Centre (NAC), the event’s Strategic Government Partner. Following the ribbon-cutting, dignitaries toured the exhibition to explore innovative technologies suited to arid climates. Al Shamsi subsequently inaugurated the two-day Future Food Resilience Summit, emphasizing a “farmers first” approach to partnerships and technological advancement. He revealed that the NAC had consulted over 400 local farmers through 80 meetings to understand their challenges and needs. Highlighting the growing role of artificial intelligence in improving agricultural efficiency, particularly water management, he stressed that such technologies are already practical tools for sustainable farming. He also announced the UAE’s ambitious target of bringing 30 percent of its farms under climate-smart solutions by 2030.
The summit’s opening fireside chat, titled “The Future of Food Resilience: From Global Dependence to Regional Strength,” brought together prominent sector leaders, including Sultan Salem Al Shamsi, Dr. Tarifa Ajeif AlZaabi, Director-General of the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) and Hassan Halawy, Group CEO of Elite Agro Holding. Their high-level panel offered a masterclass on cross-border logistics, domestic production scaling, getting arid-climate research into practice and building consumer trust through the strict implementation of UAE G.A.P. standards. This policy discussion was seamlessly balanced by practical, grassroots insights during a subsequent session showcasing local entrepreneurial successes. Local producer Essa Aldaboos captivated the audience by explaining how he successfully manages an online supply store directly from his farm acreage, while fellow grower Salima Sultan Al Shamsi shared her inspiring journey of building a thriving enterprise in regional honey production and commercial sales.
Parallel to the main summit stage, a series of specialized technical seminars were arranged for badge holders who were eager to learn from the best in the industry across three knowledge platforms, including the Future of Food Resilience Summit and a Food Landscape Think Tank. The event’s major product sectors—comprising Agriculture, Agri-Tech, Aquaculture, Livestock, Poultry, Animal Health and Sustainable & Regenerative Agriculture—offered an impressive display of international product diversity. Rooms were packed to hear specialist lectures from Khalifa University on artificial intelligence and robotics for food security, circular economy waste systems designed by The Waste Lab and poultry production and livestock optimization frameworks presented by the Emirates Veterinary Association. From Brazilian biological crop protection products to advanced European greenhouse engineering, the trade lanes served as a vibrant nexus where international technology providers introduced their solutions to the UAE market.
However, the specific demographics of the trade floor highlighted a bittersweet reality and notable shifts in regional trade representation. The exhibition lanes were heavily dominated by Indian businesses, which secured a massive majority of the commercial stalls dedicated to fertilizers, crop nutrients and micronutrients. In stark contrast, the total absence of an official Pakistani national pavilion, state-backed trade stall or private commercial manufacturing presence left many trade diplomats and visitors deeply surprised. Given Pakistan’s massive global footprint as a primary producer and leading exporter of rice, dairy, cotton and fresh produce, this missing representation created a noticeable, unfortunate void on the international stage. Aside from a single, bright Pakistani student presenting academic research at the Khalifa University stand, our country’s vast, multi-billion-dollar agricultural sector remained entirely unrepresented.
As day one concluded, the bustling trade floor proved that Growtech Middle East has successfully established a vital ecosystem for distributors and growers determined to safeguard the future of desert farming. The event, which continues with the MENA Regenerative Agriculture Summit focusing on soil health and climate resilience, offers an unparalleled gateway to Middle Eastern markets. For Pakistan, having witnessed this grand stage firsthand, it serves as a stark reminder that our public and private sectors must aggressively step onto the international stage or risk being left behind entirely in the global agri-tech revolution.
—The writer is former Director General DPP, Government of Pakistan.
