FRESH POINTE
ABSTRACT In recent years, due to Covid19 and military conflicts, the world has faced unforeseeable market conditions. Where global trade plummeted, and prices of goods significantly increased. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, the overall consumer price index of food prices is 10.1% higher than in May 2021. Leading to growing concern about food security; nations are either incapable of producing enough food to feed their people or are vulnerable because of global external factors that affect the food supply. As a result, any economic or environmental risk at this point can jeopardize the availability and affordability of food. Like the UAE, despite recent efforts to convert 7,237 square kilometers of desert into farmable land, agriculture accounts for only 3% of the UAE’s GDP. Since the 1900s, the UAE but more specifically Dubai gained its reputation as a trading hub; immigrants would choose Dubai as their home due to its affordability and strategic location along the trade route. Farmlands at the time were mainly palm trees since they could survive with little to no water. They would visit Dubai creek, where Indian and Persian merchants sold fruits close to the trading ships for easier accessibility. In doing so, the community unintentionally created dynamic markets for commerce and chatter between different backgrounds. Today, Dubai has welcomed over 200 nationalities, and the population is forever growing. The creek is still present, and the people are still here, however the interaction between consumer and seller has diluted into big chain supermarket-dominance. Once a vital aspect of a Dubaian lifestyle, a marketplace where people gather, strengthen social ties, and commerce has been wiped to nonexistence. This research aims to explore the UAE’s response to food security, analyze the significance of marketplaces and their symbolic importance in societies, and examine the connection between rural-urban linkage. In times of modernity and globalization, it will assess the need for a market space for cultural preservation and food security.
ABSTRACT
In recent years, due to Covid19 and military conflicts, the world has faced unforeseeable market conditions. Where global trade plummeted, and prices of goods significantly increased. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, the overall consumer price index of food prices is 10.1% higher than in May 2021. Leading to growing concern about food security; nations are either incapable of producing enough food to feed their people or are vulnerable because of global external factors that affect the food supply. As a result, any economic or environmental risk at this point can jeopardize the availability and affordability of food. Like the UAE, despite recent efforts to convert 7,237 square kilometers of desert into farmable land, agriculture accounts for only 3% of the UAE’s GDP. Since the 1900s, the UAE but more specifically Dubai gained its reputation as a trading hub; immigrants would choose Dubai as their home due to its affordability and strategic location along the trade route. Farmlands at the time were mainly palm trees since they could survive with little to no water. They would visit Dubai creek, where Indian and Persian merchants sold fruits close to the trading ships for easier accessibility. In doing so, the community unintentionally created dynamic markets for commerce and chatter between different backgrounds. Today, Dubai has welcomed over 200 nationalities, and the population is forever growing. The creek is still present, and the people are still here, however the interaction between consumer and seller has diluted into big chain supermarket-dominance. Once a vital aspect of a Dubaian lifestyle, a marketplace where people gather, strengthen social ties, and commerce has been wiped to nonexistence. This research aims to explore the UAE’s response to food security, analyze the significance of marketplaces and their symbolic importance in societies, and examine the connection between rural-urban linkage. In times of modernity and globalization, it will assess the need for a market space for cultural preservation and food security.
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RURAL-URBAN LINKAGE
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2.1 Creating bonds between rural
and urban fabric
Rural-urban linkages is simply bridging the gap between
the farm and the consumer. The farm or certain aspects
of harvest within footsteps of a consumer’s home. Rural-
urban linkage is defines by streams of goods, people,
information, finance, waste, information, and social relations
across space that connect rural and urban areas
(Oecd). Urbanization significantly impacts rural areas,
with food demand being one of the most important as
demand for other natural resources such as water and
wood. In many parts of the world, production is increasing
in response to urban requests, particularly for perishable
and high-value products like fruit, vegetables, and dairy.
According to the Food Authority Organization, fruit production
in the United Arab Emirates amounted to 361,471
tons, and vegetable production stood at 233,009 tons
in 2020. With the government prioritizing the production
of fruits and vegetables, production is showing growth.
Farmers’ markets have also seen a rebirth in recent
years, which is a response to the demand for increased
freshness, decreased pricing, and a direct interaction
with the producer, as well as a response to a certain nostalgic
yearning on the part of consumers. Their spending
in nearby businesses results in an increase in the amount
of money collected in taxes, making their contribution
to the economy of the surrounding area extremely valuable.
The proliferation of farmer’s markets as a retail option
is another factor that helps to the long-term viability
of towns. Growers in the area are supported, and unnecessary
food transportation is eliminated; as a result, fewer
emissions are generated. Fruit that is going to be sold directly
by the producer does not need to be chemically
treated to increase its shelf life, which is beneficial to the
health of the general population as a whole. Farmers’
markets result in the creation of new jobs and enterprises,
the expansion and diversification of local agriculture,
and an increase in the financial success of regional
farms (Tomlinson and Planas). There are many ways of
decreasing the gap between rural and urban living. The
question of how people individually are coping with food
security. Because of the harsh desert climate, UAE native
plants must be more challenging than most (Oluwafemi).
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