The Gulf region faces one of the most complex challenges for agriculture in the region, which centres on the lack of best-in-class logistics, despite remarkable food import levels of 80 to 90 per cent, according to experts.

Despite the region’s prowess in energy production, financial services and international trade - making it one of the most influential and fascinating economic regions of the world, it remains gripped by geopolitical tensions, a challenging climate and lackluster investment in its agricultural sector, it said.

Investors and agriculture industry experts will gather to discuss these challenges and the opportunities they present at Global AgInvesting Middle East, a premier agriculture investment conference in the region, at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers in Dubai, UAE from February 23 to 25.

Farid Masood, director, advisory services and asset management, ICD-Islamic Development Bank Group, said: ”What we see is a lack of quality logistics, strategic warehousing and other important infrastructure, leading to problems in the food supply chain.

"For example, a country like Saudi Arabia does not have mechanised grain terminals today. As a result, you will have a seven to eight percent loss of grains."

Investment has improved in recent years, but the current infrastructure allocation remains inadequate for the region's modern needs, said a statement.

Dubai has boosted deep-freeze storage and has the space and the funding to store food in bulk. However, increased investment will need to be placed in refrigerated transportation to maintain quality, it said.

"One challenge that is making it harder to attract investors is the lack of scale in the region," Masood said, adding that fund managers will require time and patient capital to prove that investments are adding value, meeting food security challenges and returning a profit.

"The goal of starting a fund is to show that it can be done with a profitable track record,” he added - TradeArabia News Service