Addressing food security with innovation and partnerships

Addressing food security with innovation and partnerships

Addressing food security with innovation and partnerships
Illustration image courtesy of NEOM.com 
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Food security is an urgent global challenge, amplified by supply-chain disruptions and climate change. In water-scarce regions like Saudi Arabia, which are sub-optimal for growing crops, the issue is increasingly relevant.

According to the World Bank, more than 40 percent of the global population already face water scarcity, intensified by the impact of rising average temperatures. However, with these challenges come opportunities for innovation.

Pioneering solutions implemented at NEOM — the smart city taking shape on Saudi Arabia’s northwestern coastline — will help transform how we produce, supply, and consume food in the world’s driest regions.

At Topian, the NEOM food company, we are innovating to address food security, envisioning a future where sustainably produced food improves nutrition, benefits the planet, and contributes to the economy.

Our approach is multifaceted, leveraging technology and fostering collaboration across a spectrum of stakeholders to enable sustainable food production and promote healthy consumption in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East.

At the heart of our strategy lies a commitment to piloting and scaling up solutions and integrating them into commercially viable research and innovation efforts in food production.

At the national level, we collaborate with government partners and esteemed institutions, including Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, the University of Tabuk, and the National Research and Development Center for Sustainable Agriculture — Estidamah.

Scaling technologies that are not yet mainstream in the Kingdom is essential and it can only be achieved collectively. This is why, whether in agriculture, aquaculture, or novel foods, we have focused on partnering with companies that are able to transfer the required innovations.

In agriculture, our ongoing pilots include soil-amendment technologies, a combination of water-saving interventions, and controlled environment agriculture systems.

Together with Estidamah, we are developing and promoting environmentally friendly agricultural practices and identifying the most economically viable vegetable crops and varieties suitable for local production, prioritizing taste, and quality.

Pioneering solutions at NEOM will help transform how we produce, supply, and consume food in the world’s driest regions.

Juan Carlos Motamayor

At the same time, we are piloting multiple controlled environment infrastructure combinations to scale up production at NEOM in the most water-efficient and energy-efficient ways possible.

In aquaculture, collaborations with industry leaders like Pure Salmon and the National Aquaculture Group are advancing pioneering regenerative-aquacultural practices at sea and on shore.

Technologies like recirculating aquaculture systems have proved to reduce water consumption and increase production while minimizing negative environmental impacts. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, they can reduce usage by up to 99 percent.

This solution not only enhances sustainability and productivity in aquaculture but also bolsters regional food security.

Through the establishment of Topian Aquaculture, a joint venture with Tabuk Fisheries Company, we are investing in technology to increase output, supporting the National Livestock and Fisheries Development Program’s goal of producing 600,000 tonnes of fish products annually by 2030.

In novel foods, we are advancing the adoption of alternative proteins, including plant-based and cell-cultured. Through partnerships with leading companies in cell-cultured seafood, such as BlueNalu, we are accelerating the path toward commercialization of low-impact food products initially focused on endangered marine species and pioneering new industries.

The global market for alternative proteins, including plant-based and cell-cultured, is expected to reach $20 billion by 2030, driven by advancements in biotechnology and increased consumer acceptance.

This is great news, as adoption and consumption of alternative proteins will reduce reliance on traditional livestock farming, a major source of green-house emissions, and further improve food security efforts.

Innovation is the key to addressing food security in regions like NEOM. By embracing innovation and fostering collaboration, Topian aims to ensure that food security is a tangible reality, nourishing present and future generations.

Juan Carlos Motamayor is CEO of the NEOM food company Topian, and has advised governments and organizations on agriculture, aquaculture, and sustainable business development.
 

 

Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not necessarily reflect Arab News' point of view

Man Utd hit five to start life after Ten Hag, Man City out of League Cup

Man Utd hit five to start life after Ten Hag, Man City out of League Cup
Updated 38 min 16 sec ago
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Man Utd hit five to start life after Ten Hag, Man City out of League Cup

Man Utd hit five to start life after Ten Hag, Man City out of League Cup
MANCHESTER: — Ruud van Nistelrooy enjoyed a winning start as interim Manchester United manager by beating Leicester 5-2 to reach the League Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday as Manchester City crashed out 2-1 to Tottenham.
Arsenal and Liverpool were among the other sides to book their place in the last eight, but Chelsea were beaten 2-0 at Newcastle.
A United legend as a player, Van Nistelrooy was thrust into the role of caretaker boss after the Red Devils sacked Erik ten Hag on Monday following a dreadful start to the season.
Sporting Lisbon coach Ruben Amorim is the man the English giants have targeted to take over but are still in negotiations with the Portuguese champions to agree compensation for the 39-year-old.
According to reports in Portugal, Amorim will remain at Sporting for the next three matches before completing his move during the November international break.
“I came here as an assistant to help the club. I’m helping as long as I’m needed and in the future, in any capacity, I’m here to help the club build toward the future,” said Van Nistelrooy.
“The reaction of the players was excellent. They deserve the credit for a good win and I’m happy the crowd goes home with a nice night of football.”
The Dutchman said before the game that United “can be unstoppable” when “players, staff and supporters pull together” and they cut loose by scoring four times in a thrilling first 45 minutes.
Casemiro’s stunning effort into the top corner opened the scoring before Alejandro Garnacho swept home Diogo Dalot’s cross to please a jubilant Van Nistelrooy on the touchline.
Bilal El Khannouss quickly pulled a goal back for the much-changed Foxes.
Bruno Fernandes’ deflected free-kick restored United’s two-goal cushion before Casemiro slammed home his third goal in two games.
Conor Coady grabbed another consolation for Leicester but United were not to be denied just a second win in nine games.
Fernandes rounded off the scoring when he pounced on a short back-pass to round Danny Ward and fire home.
United’s reward is a trip to Tottenham in the last eight after they eliminated a City side without Erling Haaland.
Timo Werner slotted home his first goal since March from Dejan Kulusevski’s inviting cross to open the scoring.
Pape Sarr’s long-range strike doubled Spurs’ lead before Matheus Nunes got an injury-hit City back into the tie in first-half stoppage time.
But they could not find an equalizer and Pep Guardiola showed where his priorities lie as Haaland remained on the bench for the full 90 minutes.

Cody Gakpo was the match-winner for Liverpool in a 3-2 win at Brighton to continue Arne Slot’s excellent start to life with the Reds.
Gakpo has not scored in the Premier League or Champions League this season but now has four goals in two League Cup games.
The Dutch international was ruthless with two powerful finishes cutting inside onto his right foot from the left wing.
Luis Diaz was also on target for Liverpool, while Simon Adingra and Tariq Lamptey struck late on for Brighton.
Liverpool are away to Southampton in December’s quarter-finals.
Teenager Ethan Nwaneri caught the eye with a sensational strike as Arsenal eased to a 3-0 win at Championship side Preston.
Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz got the other goals for the Gunners.
Arsenal host Crystal Palace, who beat Aston Villa 2-1, in the quarters.
Newcastle gained revenge for their Premier League defeat at Chelsea at the weekend to ease the pressure on manager Eddie Howe.
The Saudi-backed Magpies are winless in five in the league, but are desperate to end a 55-year wait to win a major trophy.
Alexander Isak’s strike and an Axel Disasi own goal inside three first-half minutes proved decisive at St. James’ Park.
Newcastle will fancy their chances of making the last four after being handed a home draw against Brentford.

Kamala Harris promises to ‘represent all Americans’ after Biden’s remark on Trump supporters and ‘garbage’

Kamala Harris promises to ‘represent all Americans’ after Biden’s remark on Trump supporters and ‘garbage’
Updated 2 min 38 sec ago
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Kamala Harris promises to ‘represent all Americans’ after Biden’s remark on Trump supporters and ‘garbage’

Kamala Harris promises to ‘represent all Americans’ after Biden’s remark on Trump supporters and ‘garbage’
  • Biden's off script remark causing a distraction for Harris in campaign’s home stretch
  • Republicans seized on Biden’s comments, saying they were an echo Hillary Clinton's remarks in 2016 that half of Trump’s supporters belonged in a “basket of deplorables”

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania: Kamala Harris called Wednesday for Americans to “stop pointing fingers at each other” as she tried to push past comments made by President Joe Biden about Donald Trump’s supporters and “garbage ” and keep the focus on her Republican opponent in the closing days of the race.

“We know we have an opportunity in this election to turn the page on a decade of Donald Trump, who has been trying to keep us divided and afraid of each other,” the Democratic nominee said.

Harris was holding rallies in a trio of battleground states as part of a blitz in the closing week of the election, with stops Wednesday in Raleigh, North Carolina; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; and Madison, Wisconsin.

She stressed unity and common ground, expanding on her capstone speech Tuesday in Washington, where she laid out what her team called the “closing argument” of her campaign.
“I am not looking to score political points,” the vice president said. “I am looking to make progress.”

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris arrives at a campaign event at the PA Farm Show Complex and Expo Center on Oct. 30, 2024, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. (AP)

As she waited for Harris to take the stage in Raleigh, 35-year-old Liz Kazal said she was “cautiously optimistic” about the election. She’s tried to volunteer for the campaign every week, including making phone calls, knocking on doors with her toddler daughter and raising money for Harris’ candidacy.
“You hope for the best and plan for the worst,” Kazal said.

Meanwhile, the White House rushed to explain that the president’s comment about “garbage” was a reference to rhetoric from Trump allies, not Trump’s supporters themselves. Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden “does not view Trump supporters or anybody who supports Trump as garbage.”
The controversy began Tuesday — at the same time Harris was speaking near the White House — when Biden participated in a campaign call organized by the Hispanic advocacy group Voto Latino. Biden used the opportunity to criticize Sunday’s Madison Square Garden rally, where a comedian described Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage.”
“The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters. His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American,” Biden said. “It’s totally contrary to everything we’ve done, everything we’ve been.”
Harris told reporters before boarding Air Force Two for her flight to Raleigh that she disagrees “with any criticism of people based on who they vote for.”
“I will represent all Americans, including those who don’t vote for me,” she said.

Her words were an attempt to blunt the controversy over Biden’s comments and put some distance between herself and the president, something she has struggled with in the past.

Biden’s remarks prompted Harris on Tuesday to say that she strongly disagreed “with any criticism of people based on who they vote for.”
Her aides were already frustrated by another Biden gaffe last week, when, speaking about Trump, he told Democratic campaign workers in New Hampshire that “We got to lock him up.”
He quickly caught himself to add: “Politically lock him up. Lock him out. That’s what we have to do.”
Harris supporters often chant “lock him up” at her rallies, a reference to Trump’s many ongoing criminal cases but also a nod to his own 2016 campaign against Hillary Clinton, when his supporters chanted “lock her up.”
Harris always quiets the chant, telling the crowd: “The courts will take care of that. We’ll take care of November.”

Biden goes off script

It’s not the first time Biden has created problems by going off script. But the latest incident served as a particular distraction just as Harris was trying to deliver a high-profile “closing argument’ for her campaign emphasizing the need to unify the country after Trump’s divisiveness.
Shortly before Harris was about to speak Tuesday night to a massive rally crowd on a stretch of grass not far from the White House, Biden got on a call with a Hispanic advocacy group and commented on a comic’s recent insults at a Trump rally where he referred to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage.”

 US President Joe Biden playfully bites a baby during a trick-or-treaters celebration for a Halloween at the White House in Washington on Oct. 30, 2024. (REUTERS)

Biden said: “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters.”
The president quickly sent out a social media post seeking to clarify his remarks about Trump. “His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable,” Biden said. “That’s all I meant to say.”
But his sharp words were quickly seized on by Republicans who said he was denigrating Trump supporters.
Biden, who withdrew from the presidential race in July following a disastrous debate performance and near mutiny within his own party, has been largely absent from the campaign trail since then. But he’s intent on maintaining his relevance and cementing his legacy, and he has stepped up his political activity in recent days even as many in his party appear to be keeping their distance from him.

He has also stepped on her events at times. He made a surprise address to reporters in the White House briefing room just as Harris was about to go onstage in Michigan, and spoke from the Oval Office on Hurricane Helene, just Harris scrapped campaign events in Las Vegas to hurry back to Washington for a briefing at the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Harris, for her part, has been trying to differentiate herself from her unpopular boss. And she has been actively courting Republican voters.

“They’ve treated you like garbage”

Republicans claimed Biden’s comments were an echo of the time when Hillary Clinton, as the Democratic nominee in 2016, said half of Trump’s supporters belonged in a “basket of deplorables.”
“We know what they believe. Because look how they’ve treated you,” Trump said at his rally in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, on Wednesday. “They’ve treated you like garbage. The truth is, they’ve treated our whole country like garbage.”
He also said, “Without question, my supporters are far higher-quality than Crooked Joe’s,” using his nickname for the president.
After landing in Green Bay, Wisconsin, for another rally later in the day, Trump posed for photos while wearing a neon orange and yellow vest and sitting in the passenger seat of a garbage truck festooned with American flags and campaign signs.
“How do you like my garbage truck?” Trump said as he took questions from reporters.
“Joe Biden should be ashamed of himself, if he knows what he’s even doing,” Trump said.
Travis Waters, 54, who attended Harris’ second rally of the day in Harrisburg, shrugged off the commotion over Biden’s comments.
“Donald Trump has said so much about so many other groups and I don’t hear the media having the same outrage,” Waters said.

Trump's demonizing rhetoric glossed over

In attacking Biden — and by extension, Harris — Republicans have glossed over Trump’s own history of insulting and demonizing rhetoric, such as calling the United States a “garbage can for the world” or describing political opponents as “the enemy within.” Trump has also described Harris as a “stupid person” and “lazy as hell,” and he’s questioned whether she was on drugs.

Trump has also refused demands to apologize for the comment about Puerto Rico at his rally, acknowledging that “somebody said some bad things” but adding that he “can’t imagine it’s a big deal.”
Political attack lines have a history of occasionally boomeranging back on people who use them. For example, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, now Trump’s running mate, once described Democrats as beholden to “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made.”
Vance’s 3-year-old comments resurfaced once he became the vice presidential nominee, energizing Harris supporters who repurposed the label as a point of pride on shirts and bumper stickers — much like Trump’s supporters once cheerfully branded themselves as “deplorables.”
On Wednesday morning, Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, downplayed Biden’s comments in television interviews.
“Let’s be very clear, the vice president and I have made it absolutely clear that we want everyone as a part of this,” he told ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “Donald Trump’s divisive rhetoric is what needs to end.”
In Harrisburg, Harris parried repeated interruptions from pro-Palestinian protesters objecting to her support for Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
“Ours is about a fight for democracy and your right to be heard,” Harris said as one protester shouted. “That is what is on the line in this election.”
She added: “Look everybody has a right to be heard, but right now I am speaking.”


A Gaza medic realizes he’s carrying his own mother’s body, killed by an Israeli airstrike

A Gaza medic realizes he’s carrying his own mother’s body, killed by an Israeli airstrike
Updated 31 October 2024
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A Gaza medic realizes he’s carrying his own mother’s body, killed by an Israeli airstrike

A Gaza medic realizes he’s carrying his own mother’s body, killed by an Israeli airstrike
  • Israel says it carries out precise strikes in Gaza targeting Palestinian militants and tries to avoid harming civilians. But the strikes often kill women and children

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza: A Palestinian ambulance worker made a horrifying discovery when the bloody sheet was lifted: The corpse on the stretcher was his own mother, killed by an Israeli airstrike Wednesday in central Gaza.
“Oh God, I swear- she’s my mother! I didn’t know it was her!” Abed Bardini sobbed as he leaned over his mother, Samira, cradling her head in his arms. Fellow Red Crescent medics tried to console him, without success.
Bardini had unknowingly sat in the ambulance beside her body, wrapped in a white sheet stained dark with blood, as the vehicle bounced across broken roads for about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) toward Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah.
Three people were killed and 10 wounded by the Israeli strike on a car in Maghazi refugee camp, according to Palestinian health officials and Associated Press journalists. Health officials at the hospital said two of the dead were men sitting in the vehicle, while the blast fatally injured 61-year-old Samira Bardini as she stood nearby.
Abed Bardini was in one of two ambulances dispatched to the scene. Back at the hospital, he unloaded the stretcher with practiced professionalism, squinting into the late afternoon sun as he wheeled the body across the hospital courtyard.
Inside, medical staff pulled back the blanket to check for signs of life, and Bardini’s strength collapsed.
Later, his tears exhausted, he sat in the morgue beside Samira’s body with his head in his hands, comforted by his Red Crescent colleagues. They held a funeral prayer over her body in the parking lot, then Bardini personally helped carry the body into an ambulance for burial.
A spokesperson for the Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strike. Israel says it carries out precise strikes in Gaza targeting Palestinian militants and tries to avoid harming civilians. But the strikes often kill women and children.
Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people and abducted around 250 in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel that triggered the war. Israel’s retaliatory war in Gaza has killed more than 43,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, who do not say how many were combatants but say more than half were women and children. Gaza’s Health Ministry said Wednesday that 102 deaths were recorded over the past 24 hours.


Russian bomb hits residential building in Ukraine’s Kharkiv, 17 injured, major damage

Russian bomb hits residential building in Ukraine’s Kharkiv, 17 injured, major damage
Updated 39 min 33 sec ago
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Russian bomb hits residential building in Ukraine’s Kharkiv, 17 injured, major damage

Russian bomb hits residential building in Ukraine’s Kharkiv, 17 injured, major damage

A Russian guided bomb struck a high-rise apartment block on Wednesday evening in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, injuring at least 17 people, including three trapped under rubble, and badly damaging the building, officials said.
Kharkiv region governor Oleh Syniehubov, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said the impact triggered a fire and destroyed most of one entrance to the building.
He said 17 people were injured, included three trapped under rubble. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov put the injury toll at 18.
Pictures posted online showed firefighters tackling a blaze outside the building, with entire sections of the nine-story structure collapsed into rubble.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said the attack underscored the need for more military aid from Ukraine’s Western allies.
“Our partners can see what is happening every day,” he wrote on Telegram. “And in these conditions, every decision that is put off means, at the very least, dozens of lives and hundreds of Russian bombs used against Ukraine.”
Kharkiv remained in Ukrainian hands through the initial failed advance of Russian forces on the capital Kyiv in the early days of the February 2022 invasion. It has since become a frequent target of Russian air attacks.


Spain races to save victims as floods kill 95

Spain races to save victims as floods kill 95
Updated 31 October 2024
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Spain races to save victims as floods kill 95

Spain races to save victims as floods kill 95

SEDAVI, Spain: Spain braced for a heavier human toll on Wednesday after 95 people died in flash floods that launched muddy waters through towns, tossed cars and wreaked transport havoc.
Rescuers were expected to find more bodies in the European country’s deadliest flood in more than 50 years and three days of official mourning were due to start on Thursday.
Heavy downpours and fierce winds have lashed Spain since the beginning of the week after a storm formed over the Mediterranean Sea, with up to a year’s worth of rain falling in just hours in some areas.
The body coordinating emergency services in the eastern Valencia region announced a provisional death toll of 92, adding that bodies were still being recovered and identified.
Two people died in neighboring Castilla-La Mancha and another victim was reported in Andalusia in the south, both regions’ leaders told journalists.
The toll is likely to rise because “there are many missing people,” government minister Angel Victor Torres told public broadcaster TVE.

The head of the Valencia region, Carlos Mazon, told reporters there were no longer people to save from roofs or terraces through aerial means.
Emergency services carried out 200 rescues on the ground and 70 aerial evacuations throughout the day, he said.
A sea of piled-up cars and mud swamped streets in Sedavi, a suburb of the Mediterranean coastal city of Valencia, AFP journalists saw.
Stunned residents attempted to clean the sludge and grabbed buckets to bail out water from their homes ahead of a long night without water or electricity.
In Ribarroja del Turia on the outskirts of Valencia city, town councillor Esther Gomez said workers were stuck overnight in an industrial estate “without a chance of rescuing them” as streams overflowed.
“It had been a long time since this happened and we’re scared,” she told AFP.
According to Spain’s weather service AEMET, the town of Chiva, west of Valencia, recorded 491 mm of rain in just eight hours on Tuesday — almost equalling a year’s worth.
“All of Spain weeps with all of you... We won’t abandon you,” Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told victims and their families in a televised address.
The disaster could not be considered over and “we will deploy all the necessary resources for as long as necessary so that we can recover from this tragedy,” he added.
King Felipe VI said he was “devastated” by the news on X and offered “heartfelt condolences” to families of the victims, thanking emergency services for their “titanic” response.
Damage to telephone networks and flooded roads were hampering efforts to reach stricken communities in the Valencia region, but rescuers’ access to all urban hubs was restored by Wednesday evening, Mazon said.
Some 155,000 homes were without electricity in Valencia region due to the storm, energy company Iberdrola said, adding that it had dispatched 500 workers to restore power there.
Defense Minister Margarita Robles told reporters more than 1,000 troops backed by helicopters were being deployed in the face of “an unprecedented phenomenon.”
The European Union activated its Copernicus satellite system to help coordinate Spanish rescue teams, commission chief Ursula von der Leyen told a news conference in Brussels.
The bloc has also offered to use its civil protection mechanism to send further reinforcements, she said.

Officials in the Valencia region announced survivors were being sheltered in temporary accommodation such as fire stations.
Rail and air transport remained severely disrupted. The high-speed line between Valencia and Madrid will be suspended over the next four days at least, rail infrastructure authority Adif announced.
Some downpours are expected to continue, but AEMET removed all remaining red alerts in the evening.
The flood toll is Spain’s deadliest since 1973 when at least 150 people were estimated to have died in the southeastern provinces of Granada, Murcia and Almeria.
Meteorologists have said the latest storm was caused by cold air moving over Mediterranean’s warm waters, which produced intense rain clouds, a phenomenon common for the time of year.
Scientists warn extreme weather events such as storms are becoming more intense, last longer and occur more frequently as a result of human-induced climate change.
Such extremes “can overwhelm the ability of existing defenses and contingency plans to cope, even in a relatively wealthy country like Spain,” said Leslie Mabon, senior lecturer in environmental systems at Britain’s Open University.
The heavy death toll came after warnings for extreme rainfall, suggesting Valencia’s flood alert system failed, said Hannah Cloke, hydrology professor at the University of Reading.