ASPIRE Research Institute for Food Security in the Drylands

Working Group on Food Markets

Objectives

The team’s primary goal is to evaluate climate change impacts on the four pillars of food security. Our objective is to understand how different climate change scenarios affect the UAE’s availability of food from domestic production and international trade. To support future food security, our research strives to support the development of a resilient food trade environment and foreign policy in a changing climate. 

Group Members

• Dr. Eihab Fathelrahman, Subtheme Lead / PI

• Dr. Tamrat Challa, Post Doctoral Researcher

• Raeda Osman, Research Associate

 

Modeling Future Food Markets Amid Climate Change in the GCC 

We compile Social Accounting Matrices (SAMs) and an input-output modeling framework for the UAE and the GCC Countries. The SAMs represent all transactions and transfers within the national, regional, and global economy, and between different production activities, factors of production, and institutions (households, corporate sector, and government).

We develop scenarios for future food markets under climate change. These scenarios will be based on credible assumptions about how climate change will affect global food production in the future. They will be beneficial in pondering various strained but conceivable future conditions that GCC nations may encounter in the global food system. Based on this, effective adaptations to climate change can be laid out and assessed for their impact on food security in the UAE.

Openness to Trade correlation between gross domestic product (GDP) and openness to trade (trade as a percentage of GDP)

We collaborate with

• The working group on future consumers and diets, to support the development of policies that support food trade in alignment with consumer preferences and choices. 
• The FO-SEC Launch lab, to support marketing and incubation of ARIFSID’s innovations, and direct future research towards the requirements of the UAEs food and agricultural sector