Almost one in three individuals within the Center East and North Africa (MENA) area lack entry to sufficient meals, in keeping with the UN Meals & Agriculture Group.
The MENA area faces quite a few challenges in meals and diet safety: a dearth of viable farmland is an apparent contributor, exacerbated by fast inhabitants development, urbanization, low productiveness, local weather change, and a restricted pure useful resource base.
Inflation, and provide chain points attributable to Covid-19 and the Russo-Ukrainian Battle, have additional aggravated the area’s meals safety issues.
However MENA international locations had one thing of a sneak preview of what can occur when meals costs spiral uncontrolled. After a pointy rise in meals costs in 2008 and 2009 helped launch the widespread Arab Spring uprisings within the early 2010s, pushing MENA international locations like Oman to position meals safety even increased on the agenda.
In 2012, the sultanate created the Oman Meals Funding Holding Firm (OFIC) with a mandate to put money into meals safety, financial diversification, and the supply of jobs to Omani residents. It additionally put an emphasis on know-how and innovation, in keeping with the Oman Imaginative and prescient 2040 trade plan which targets the long-term financial sustainability of the nation.
Now with inflation enveloping many of the world, we’re already seeing meals costs enhance dramatically with provide chain shortages caused by the Ukraine warfare exacerbating the financial backdrop for importers of core commodities like wheat similar to Oman.
That’s why when information hit about Oman’s central funding company Oman Funding Authority (OIA) partnering with a foodtech firm – MycoTechnology – on protein provide, it was value taking a more in-depth look.
Protein demand
In response to Professional Market Analysis, the demand for dairy protein within the MENA area is rising as fast inhabitants development creates an more and more health-conscious center class. The general demand for protein within the MENA area can also be closely influenced by the demand for whey protein, which had a market measurement of round $1.01 billion in 2021. That is anticipated to surge to roughly $1.38 billion in 2026.
Oman’s plant protein trade is steadily rising as nicely, having recorded a CAGR of 27% throughout 2018 to 2020. That is anticipated to develop 18.8% between 2021 to 2027 to achieve a market worth of $41.7 million in 2027.
MycoTechnology is a US-based startup that was based in 2013 by Alan Hahn, Jim Langan and Brooks Kelly. It has raised a complete of $207.6 million over a number of rounds. Its newest spherical was a Sequence E funding of $85 million earlier this 12 months led by OIA alongside 12 different buyers, each new and current.
The startup makes use of mycelium derived from mushrooms to make novel meals substances via fermentation. The substances can be utilized as bitter blockers, to make clear meals flavors or enhance the performance or protein ranges of meals.
The deal
MycoTech and OIA have established a three way partnership to scale up and commercialize the manufacturing of other protein substances within the nation by utilizing leftover dates.
Oman is the eighth largest producer of dates globally with over 250 indigenous varieties. Nonetheless, people eat lower than half of what’s produced domestically as they usually fail to fulfill sure requirements or shopper preferences and are then both wasted or, primarily utilized in animal feed.
The brand new three way partnership is predicted to upcycle a good portion of those extra dates, utilizing the pure sugar current within the fruit as a supply of carbon to gas the manufacturing of MycoTech’s mushroom-based protein.
The enterprise, which mixes OIA’s native data and public sector relationships with MycoTechnology’s cutting-edge know-how, will see the institution of a manufacturing facility in Oman within the first half of 2023 on a 10-hectare website.
Manufacturing is about to start by the second quarter of 2025, with as much as 16,000 tonnes of dates to be processed annually. As soon as operational, the companions intend for the brand new facility to evolve into the Center East’s main innovation hub for meals know-how.
“Oman was on the lookout for a home resolution and we had a long-term relationship with the Oman Expertise Fund. So we explored what can be one of the simplest ways to sort out that problem [of food security],” Hahn tells AFN.
“With the warfare in Ukraine and its influence on the worldwide provide chain, each nation needs to be this know-how to see if it matches into their strategic initiatives. If you happen to’re importing, you might want to work out a option to do every kind of aspect stability enhancements and so forth. You’re not transport stuff round. So I believe it’s actually crucial that they take a look at their sources of meals and the way they produce protein for its inhabitants,” he notes.
Innovation for meals safety in MENA
Oman has taken strides to make use of innovation in different methods to bolster its meals safety, similar to managed surroundings agriculture.
These strikes are just some examples that observe World Financial institution suggestions for the MENA area to chop again on an overreliance on imported meals and put money into agricultural applied sciences that may mitigate local weather change results. It additionally suggests selling non-public sector investments into agriculture.
Different international locations within the area are taking related steps. Within the United Arab Emirates, the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, invested with vertical farming group AeroFarms alongside IKEA and famend chef David Chang to ascertain a vertical farming mission within the metropolis.
Qatar has invested in each vertical farming and various protein improvements. Final 12 months it invested within the Sequence D spherical of Dutch indoor ag startup Infarm and a development stage funding spherical for Eat Simply, the alt protein chief. Qatar and Eat Simply additionally have plans to launch a cell-cultured meat hub collectively.
Israel is a number one participant throughout many agrifoodtech classes, not simply alt protein and indoor farming. (Right here’s a roundup of AgriFood Week in Israel {that a} colleague attended a couple of years in the past to get a flavour of the breadth of its improvements.)
What they’re saying
“MycoTechnology is worked up to be co-operating with Oman Funding Authority to construct this extremely revolutionary meals oasis within the desert. It represents a breakthrough within the quest to deliver meals safety to Oman and the broader area. This initiative will likely be transformative – and never only for the Center East. We’re foraging for the long run, unlocking the traditional energy of culinary mushrooms to feed the world’s rising inhabitants with an answer that’s been beneath our ft all alongside,” says Hahn.
“In our worldwide investments at OIA, we goal localizing superior fashionable applied sciences. Our partnership with MycoTechnology will ship substantial native advantages as we pioneer the proteins of tomorrow. It’s going to assist our mission to reinforce meals safety, diversify the Omani financial system, and create well-paying jobs in an eco-friendly new sector,” says Ibrahim Al Eisri, Director of Non-public Fairness at OIA.
“This three way partnership would be the basis that permits Oman to foster a brand new technology of expertise within the sphere of meals know-how, right here and additional afield.”
