By Dr Tasneem Ahmad, Former Director General, DPP, Government of Pakistan
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 longest running agricultural trade fair, the rebranded Growtech Middle East represents a strategic leap forward in global market expansion and effective development.
Organised 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 brought together near 10000 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 commenced with a high profile opening ceremony led by His Excellency Marwan Bin Ghalita, Director General of Dubai Municipality, alongside Sultan Salem Saif Al Shamsi, Director General of the UAE National Agriculture Centre (NAC), which served as the strategic government partner. Following a traditional ribbon cutting ceremony, the dignitaries toured the expansive exhibition floor to evaluate localized, cutting edge technologies designed to thrive in arid and desert climates.
Directly following the opening, Director General Al Shamsi inaugurated the highly anticipated, two day Future Food Resilience Summit with a vital message centered on regional empowerment, stating that a farmers first principle must guide state partnerships and technological integration moving forward. Highlighting the groundwork of the NAC, Al Shamsi revealed that the center had engaged with over 400 local farmers across eighty meetings to closely understand the daily realities and challenges of fieldwork. He emphasized that artificial intelligence is no longer a technology of the future but a practical tool to optimize resource efficiency, particularly water, and announced an ambitious national target to have 30 percent of UAE farms adopt climate smart solutions by 2030.
The opening fireside chat of the summit, 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 deep insights into cross border logistics, domestic production scaling, getting arid climate research into practice, and building consumer trust through the strict implementation of UAE GAP 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 eager to learn across three knowledge platforms, including the Future of Food Resilience Summit and a Food Landscape Think Tank. The major product sectors comprising Agriculture, Agri Tech, Aquaculture, Livestock, Poultry, Animal Health, and Sustainable and Regenerative Agriculture offered an impressive display of international 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.
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 the massive global footprint of Pakistan as a primary producer and leading exporter of rice, dairy, cotton, and fresh produce, this missing representation created a noticeable void on the international stage. Aside from a single Pakistani student presenting academic research at the Khalifa University stand, the country 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 both public and private sectors must aggressively step onto the international stage, or risk being left behind entirely in the global agri tech revolution.