Dr. Turki Faisal Al Rasheed, businessperson and academic consultant, was a main speaker. He presented the lecture Food Security in the Arab World: Sudan Investment Perspective. It was held on March 6, 2023, at the Sharjah Hall, University of Khartoum, under the auspices of the Faculty of Agriculture.
The University of Khartoum is a public university located in Sudan. It is the largest and oldest university in the country, founded as Gordon Memorial College in 1902 and established in 1956 when Sudan gained independence. The Faculty of Agriculture was established early in 1938 as a higher agricultural school and belonged to the Department of Agriculture until 1946.
The attending participants comprised dignitaries including His Excellency Ali Bin Hassan Al Jaafar, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Sudan; His Excellency Ali bin Sulaiman Aldarmaki, Oman’s ambassador to Sudan; His Excellency Samir Abdul-Jabbar Ismail Taha, Palestine’s ambassador to Sudan; His Excellency Saed Radaideh, Jordan’s ambassador to Sudan; His Excellency Dr. Abu Bakr Omar Al-Bishri, Sudan’s minister of agriculture; His Excellency Ahlam Madani Mahdi, Sudan’s minister of investment; His Excellency Prof. Emad El-Din El-Amin El-Taher Ardeeb, President of the University of Khartoum; and His Excellency Prof. Ibrahim Adam El Dukheri, director general president of the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development, as well as academics, businesspeople, and experts, who added value and a new dimension to the forum.
Dr. Al Rasheed proposed that the Arab world must realize that the increasing danger of food shortage is represented in the ability of each country to provide the basic needs of its citizens, especially in developing countries. Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences, for an active and healthy life (definition agreed at the 1996 World Food Summit according to the Food and Agriculture Organization).
The four main dimensions of food security are physical availability of food, economic and physical access to food, food utilization, and stability of the other three dimensions over time. For food security to be realized, all four dimensions must be fulfilled simultaneously, according to the World Bank.
Regarding Sudan’s role in achieving Arab food security, the capabilities that Sudan possesses to achieve regional food security are clear, suggesting that the country has the capability to achieve food security in the Arab world but lacks the willingness to achieve this goal.
Dr. Al Rasheed emphasized that food security is a national security. He noted that whoever has security has the strength and ability to achieve independently, highlighting that many countries have neglected local food production and food industries and relied on imports at subsidized prices, leading to the collapse of agricultural production and food industries.
After the presentation of Dr. Al Rasheed, several commentators offered their views. First to do so was Dean of the College of Agriculture Dr. Omar Abdallah; followed by Dr. Ali Salih, also from the college of agriculture; Dr. Amira Ali, from the Ministry of Agriculture; Mohammed Al-Mahi, from the Ministry of Investment; and, finally, Director of Mahgoub Sons Group Dr. Wajdi Mirghani Mahgoub.
His Excellency Ali bin Hassan Jaafar, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Sudan, in his commentary on the forum, called for the importance of integration and concerted efforts among Arab countries to end the food shortage and achieve Arab food security, both of which align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The Saudi ambassador added that the challenges the world is currently facing and the repercussions of the Russia–Ukraine war are a wake-up call, and that working to end the food shortage should start now to achieve food security in the region, stressing the importance of benefiting others and exploiting capabilities, in which the Arab region abounds.
Dr. Al Rasheed’s Recommendations
First: Sudan is afforded the most prominent share in providing Arab food security provided that there are firm and urgent measures to combat administrative corruption and create an appropriate investment climate.
Second: Prepare the legal and legislative framework to guarantee and protect investments and capital.
Third: Reform legislation related to land acquisition.
Fourth: Establish ownership and investment permits.
Fifth: Address disputes with residents of investment sites.
Sixth: Implement water resource laws, considering inflation.
Seventh: Ensure the stability of the exchange rate.
Eight: Transfer investor profits, secure these investments, and regulate the administrative fees imposed on the investor.
Finally, Dr. Al Rasheed emphasizes the importance of establishing a shareholder company that is open to all the citizens and investors.
In conclusion, attracting foreign investment requires a stable and political security environment. Agricultural investment requires clear land, ownership, and water and energy policies. Establishing infrastructure is the responsibility of the Sudanese government, to attract investors. Sudan has the capability to provide the Arab world and African countries with basic human requirements, such as wheat, barley, rice, oil crops, beans, chickpeas, and dried green fodder, achieving Arab food security in a large way and hedging against global crises.
About the author
Dr. Turki Faisal Al Rasheed is the founder and CEO of Golden Grass, Inc., a consultant at Al Ulama Management & Agricultural consultancy services, and an adjunct professor at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Department of Agricultural and Bio-systems engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
Dr. Al Rasheed is the author of more than half a dozen books. His most recent publications are Agricultural Development Strategies: the Saudi Experience, and Public Governance and Strategic Management Capabilities: Public Governance in the Gulf States. He is currently working on Saudi Arabia’s Transformation: Uncertainty and Sustainability, Food Security in the Arab World, and Sustainable Agricultural Development Strategies in Saudi Arabia: Resiliency and National Security.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XDmLW0Zsaw&ab_channel=SudanNewsAgency%D9%88%D9%83%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A9%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%84%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%86%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%A1
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