Abu Dhabi fund ADQ joins forces with ne’ma to combat food waste

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Abu Dhabi wealth fund ADQ said on Tuesday that it has signed a multi-year partnership agreement with the UAE’s National Food Loss and Waste Initiative (ne’ma) to combat food loss across the entire value chain, from production to consumption.

Founded in 2022, ne’ma is a collaboration between the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment and the Emirates Foundation that seeks to support the UN Sustainable Development Goal (UNSDG) 12.3 to reduce food loss and waste by 50 per cent by 2030.

ne’ma drives policy change and initiates projects to address the root causes of food waste.

The collaboration allows ADQ to enhance the resilience of the local food system and strengthen its comprehensive investments in the food and agriculture sector.

“As a major investor in the local food and agriculture sector, we believe it is critical to ensure that enabling and upscaling the production of adequate, affordable and nutritious food goes alongside the preservation of food as a precious natural resource,” said Mansour Al Mulla, deputy group CEO at ADQ.

ADQ’s food and agriculture cluster aims to enhance food security and sustainability by investing in agricultural technology and expanding domestic farming capabilities to meet local demand.

Under the agreement, ADQ and ne’ma will explore the development of joint initiatives to reduce food loss across the entire value chain and promote responsible consumption habits.

ne’ma will also provide ADQ with data identifying food loss hotspots and systemic gaps to address challenges and find solutions.

The UN, approximately 13 per cent of food is lost between harvest and retail, while an additional 19 per cent is wasted at the consumption level (retail, food services and household). Food loss and waste account for 8 to 10 per cent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.

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