The Project
| Name | MENAT Regenerative Agriculture Venture Programme |
|---|---|
| Executive Summary | The MENAT Regenerative Agriculture Venture Programme serves as an accelerator identifying, supporting, and capacity-building regional research, science, and nature-based innovations through tailored learning journeys, bootcamps, mentorship, grants, and incubation opportunities. By providing awareness, capacity building, and entrepreneurial skills, the program helps academia and researchers scale their impact while engaging cross-sector stakeholders. The project focuses specifically on MENAT's unique agricultural challenges including arid landscapes, land degradation, saline soils, desertification, and water scarcity. Since its launch in December 2023, the programme has demonstrated exceptional regional engagement with 660+ registrations spanning 65 countries and over 80 academic institutions, resulting in 160 validated applications and establishing a comprehensive database of 900+ academia and research institutes. Significantly, 32.9% of the 40 developed solutions were created by female researchers, highlighting the programme's commitment to inclusive innovation. The initiative has distributed $90,000 in grants to 6 awarded solutions while providing 90 hours of mentorship and 30 hours of workshops featuring 17 expert speakers, supported by 23 mentors and 25 judges. This comprehensive support structure has generated substantial outcomes including multiple patent achievements, such as KAUST's Affordable Nanotech for Arid Environments and Cyanoboost biofertilizers, successful startup launches including EcoCyan and The Waste Lab, and international recognition at AgriNext 2024 and AgraME 2024. The programme's momentum culminated in the inaugural MENAT Regional Regenerative Agriculture Summit in May 2025, held in Riyadh under Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture patronage. Strategic partnerships with HSBC, Saudi Awwal Bank, EIT Food, and UN Climate Change High-Level Champions ensure solutions transition effectively from research to real-world implementation while fostering supportive policy environments for sustainable agricultural transformation. |
| Relevance for 4 per 1000 | The MENAT Regenerative Agriculture Venture Programme directly aligns with "4 per 1000's" vision by supporting the scale-up of early-stage innovations from researchers addressing the MENAT region's distinctive agricultural challenges in arid environments. The programme's emphasis on regenerative practices that capture atmospheric carbon and sequester it as soil organic matter directly supports the initiative's goal of increasing soil organic carbon (SOC) storage by 0.4% annually. Through its accelerator framework, the programme identifies and scales nature-based solutions—including biofertilizers and nanotechnology applications—that enhance carbon sequestration in degraded MENAT soils while embodying science-backed, farmer-centered implementation strategies. |
| Partners | HSBC, Saudi Awwal Bank, European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT Food), United Nations Climate Change High Level Champions, AgraME, C3, Risin Venture, Emirates Bio Farm, Global Shapers Community Dubai, Healthy Food, Thought for Food, KöK projekt, Trapital, Sekem, Soma Mater |
| Target countries | United Arab Emirates |
| Beneficiaries | Researchers and young innovators, Farmers |
| Estimated Duration (months) | 6 |
| Project stage | Ongoing |
The Project Owner
| Lead Organization | Goumbook |
|---|---|
| Country | United Arab Emirates |
| Organization type | Company |
| 4p1000 Membership | yes |
Alignment with the "4 per 1000" Strategy
| Main Objective | C2 Urge Soil Regeneration |
|---|---|
| Main Activity | C2.7 Co-create sustainable soil and land management practices |
Other Activities | A2.2 Coaching of applicants C1.5 Advocate for favorable conditions for change C2.3 Include agroecology in vocational training curricula C2.6 Train the trainers |
| Other Objectives |
