The first World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit hosted in Dubai welcomed 300+ growers, agribusinesses, technology providers, start-ups and investors to exchange ideas, share experiences and forge new partnerships.

Hosted alongside COP28, the summit saw two incredible days of high energy networking, impactful regionally-focussed presentations and thought-provoking panel discussions. 

Enjoy our short summary of the summit action complete with video highlights, photo gallery and key takeaways.

Save the date for World Agri-Tech Dubai, 9-10 December 2024!

Relive the Action with the Photo Gallery

Who Joined Us?

Here is a snapshot of the industry leaders from the region and beyond who joined us in Dubai and online:

Highlights from the Stage

Bayer and Silal Sign Partnership Agreement

“This collaboration reflects our commitment to strengthening the UAE’s Agri-Tech innovation landscape. Our partnership with Bayer will significantly contribute to our Innovation Oasis, and together, we are well-positioned to drive positive change in the agriculture sector.” – Dr Shamal Mohammed, Head of Agri-Tech, SILAL

The Path to Food Security

“The economics of climate smart agriculture technologies is highly attractive, but it takes time for those benefits actually to materialise. So when we talk about food systems transition, farmers need to go to the valley of transition before actually they make profit. And of course, smallholder farmers that don’t have a lot of surplus and margins to deal with it. Governments can also play an important role in de-risking some of those investments that private sector actually do to encourage farmers to adopt those climate-smart agriculture technologies”

Martien Van Nieuwkoop, Global Director, Agriculture and Food Global Practice, WORLD BANK GROUP

The Outlook for VC funding for Agri-Tech in 2024

“The continent needs to be weaned away from developmental and grant money, and stand on its own and explain to the world how investable the opportunity is. Just by simple numbers, we are blessed with so much natural capital, blessed with so much youth manpower, the highest percent of youth in the world is in Africa.”

Sherief Kesseba, Managing Partner, CLIMATE RESILIENT AFRICA FUND

Seed Breeding for Arid and Desert Environments

“It’s important to look at domesticated crops, as well as wild crops, we can’t just look at one versus the other. It’s the combination of the two together, ultimately, for selection or gene editing,”

Gretchen Weightman, Senior Vice President Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa (AMEA), ILLUMINA

Water Scarcity

“Without a doubt, the primary challenge in this region is water. And we need to minimise the use of water for almost all sources of the reach of water in this region are not sustainable. And we need to maximise production that is directed to local needs.”

Mark Tester, Professor, Plant Science Associate Director, Centre for Desert Agriculture, KAUST

What Our Delegates Say

“The summit proved to be an invaluable experience, offering deep insights into cutting-edge trends and innovations in agriculture. The summit allowed me to forge meaningful connections, engage in insightful discussions, and significantly contributed to advancing our industry knowledge and fostering potential collaborations. The diverse array of topics covered and the high-quality networking opportunities establish this summit as an essential event for all those immersed in the realm of agricultural innovation.”

Research & Development, ADAFSA

“The summit was very well organized, featuring an interesting agenda, and engaging panel discussions and roundtables. The diversity of the event’s key speakers, who represented the entire Agrifood value chain, was also particularly impressive”

Partner, STRATEGY& MIDDLE EAST

“Thank you all for a wonderful event, thoroughly enjoyed seeing the birth of World Agri-Tech in our geography.”

Managing Partner, CLIMATE RESILIENCE FUND

“A very good and useful event, valuable networking. Very well organised and professionally hosted.”

Plant Science Associate Director, Centre for Desert Agriculture, KAUST

 

“The summit had all the key players from the UAE, whether they were farmer, producer, supplier, or consultant. A very informative, effective, and important event. A very informative, effective, and important event that overachieved many other agri-tech related initiatives that have been organised throughout the year. The start-up pitches and roundtables were very effective!”

Director of Market & Business Development, MEA & APAC, PRIVA

“We have connected with a lot of people and are very happy with the connections! We have met all our targets. On the logistics side, it’s been very well organised, we have been supported by the team. All the preparation before and during the event has been superb, and we’re very grateful.”

Senior Plant Scientist, VERTICAL FUTURE

“The World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit is like a town hall for agri-tech companies. Investors, partners, collaborators, everyone is here and willing to get things done. You meet valuable strangers and make meaningful connection professionally that actually help your business. I had meetings with potential investors who already knew about us, but seeing them at the conference helped deepen the relationship.”

CEO, FARMERLINE

See You Next Time

After such a fantastic edition, we’re already excited to see how we can grow the summit in 2024! Save the date now, and keep in touch with Sophie Brady  if you’re interested in taking an active role as a summit partner, speaker or start-up showcase.