Customize Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

No cookies to display.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

No cookies to display.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

Mariam Almheiri shines spotlight on agricultural innovation at COP29

Mariam Almheiri, Head of International Affairs at the Presidential Court, has affirmed the importance of partnerships and technological breakthroughs in transforming food systems for a changing climate, during her participation in a series of pivotal events as part of COP29 in Baku.

Following the announcement of the UAE and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Partnership on Agricultural Innovation at COP28 last year, she participated in a number of events at COP29 aimed at highlighting progress made in implementing the partnership over the last twelve months.

Almheiri participated in a fire-side chat at the UAE Pavilion co-organised by the UAE, the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The event, entitled “Partnering to Create AI-based Public Goods for 500 Million Smallholders” focused on how to increase access to agricultural extension services, which hold the key to transforming the lives of hundreds of millions smallholder families worldwide.

The event discussed the potential of harnessing generative AI as powerful tool for improving the delivery and broadening access to agricultural research and extension services in climate vulnerable countries.

Almheiri said, “Extension workers and farmers could be well served by gaining access to a new generation of digital tools powered by regenerative AI technology, such as large language models. With the new pilot AgriLLM project we have launched with our global partners at COP29 we will leverage UAE’s open-access suite of Falcon LLMs to make accurate, trustworthy and transparent information available to farmers from around the world.”

She added, “As a first step, the AgriLLM will aim to act as a decision-support tool for agricultural researchers, development professionals and extension agents.”

Martien van Nieuwkoop, Director, Agricultural Development, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, said, “At COP28, the United Arab Emirates and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched a new partnership to invest in agricultural innovation, responding to the urgent needs of smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia for better tools and resources to help them adapt to the escalating threats of climate change.”

As part of her engagement programme in Azerbaijan, Almheiri also participated in an event focused on the Agriculture Innovation Mechanism for Scale (AIM for Scale), entitled “Empowering small-scale producers with farmer-centered weather information”.

To open the event, she participated in a Fireside chat moderated by chaired by Professor Amir Jina, the AIM for Scale Technical Panel Chair.

Speaking about the importance of the event, Almheiri said, “Imagine empowering hundreds of millions of farmers with the most critical climate knowledge they need to secure their future: weather forecasts. We’ve seen the positive impact that access to improved climate services can have on helping farmers adapt to climate change by making informed decisions about planting, harvesting and risk management.”

Speaking about the purpose behind AIM for Scale, she said, “Innovation is the lifeblood of climate action and at the heart of AIM for Scale. The UAE believes we must foster a global ecosystem that supports the development and deployment of groundbreaking technologies to accelerate our transition to a net-zero future, including reimaging our food systems.”

During the event, she also expressed UAE’s commitment to the AIM for Scale Weather Innovation Package by announcing the launch of a new AI-based Weather Forecasting Research and Training Programme. Lead by MBZUAI, the programme will work with global technical partners – including the World Meteorological Organisation, the University of Chicago and the UAE’s National Center of Meteorology to develop new techniques for using artificial intelligence to inform weather forecasts.

In addition, the programme will also provide technical training and support to more than 30 country partners over a three-year period.

Earlier in the week, Dr. Amna bint Abdullah Al Dahak, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, was joined by multilateral banks, and senior government and non-Governmental representatives, at the AIM for Scale Launch Event, hosted at the UAE Pavilion.

The event provided a platform to formally launch AIM for Scale’s first Innovation Package: a blueprint for collective action to scale access to high-quality, farmer-centered weather forecasts in LMICs which mobilised $1 billion in funding commitments.”