Regenerative Agriculture

The MENA Regenerative Agriculture Initiative mobilises a regional movement to advance research, scientific innovation, and nature-based solutions; tackling food systems, water security, and climate challenges.

Venture programme
SUMMIT

About the Initiative

Goumbook’s MENA Regenerative Agriculture Initiative, launched in December 2023, aims to initiate a regenerative agriculture awareness movement, mobilising key stakeholders, and rallying a supportive ecosystem to scale accessible innovative science, research and nature-based solutions. The initiative addresses the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region’s unique agricultural challenges — including arid landscapes, land degradation, saline soils, desertification, and water scarcity.

Regenerative agriculture, driven by an evidence-based and practical research approach, offers effective solutions to critical issues such as food security, soil health, water scarcity, climate resilience, carbon sequestration, biodiversity loss, and rural social welfare. 

Mobilising MENA stakeholders to tackle food systems challenges: Our Approach

The MENA Regenerative Agriculture Initiative objectives

  • Create awareness and an enabling ecosystem around regenerative agriculture as a solution to MENAT’s agricultural challenges and opportunities.
  • Positions the MENAT region as a seedbed of innovation for climate resilient agriculture solutions.
  • Supports the Knowledge Economy by focusing on research, science, and nature-based solutions.
  • Capacity Builds academia and research by fostering regenerative and entrepreneurship skills, bridging the gap between academia and business sectors.
  • Brings research solutions to life by enabling long-term, accessible, scalable, and sustainable impact solutions.
  • Regenerative agriculture, driven by an evidence-based and practical research approach, offers effective solutions to critical issues such as food security, soil health, water scarcity, climate resilience, carbon sequestration, biodiversity loss, and rural social welfare. 

Our three frameworks include:

Venture Programme

The Venture Programme is an accelerator programme, launched in 2023, committed to supporting researchers and innovators that are developing solutions for the MENA region’s unique agricultural, food and water security, and climate challenges.

The programme aims to empower and up-skill researchers and science based innovators in regenerative and entrepreneurship skills needed to turn scientific research into proof of concepts and scalable solutions.

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TURBAH

The MENA Regenerative Agriculture - Citizen Science Project, endorsement under the the MENA Nature-Based Solutions Alliance, brings together farmers, researchers, and communities to raise awareness about regenerative agriculture. It collects meaningful soil data, demonstrates real-world practices on working farms, and educates the community on the journey of food and challenges faced by farmers. By showcasing live examples, the project encourages farmer adoption, supports evidence-based investment, and provides a platform for researchers to test and scale innovative solutions for a sustainable, resilient agricultural ecosystem.

Summit

Goumbook, under the patronage of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA) and hosted by Saudi Awwal Bank (SAB), presented the inaugural MENAT Regenerative Agriculture Summit in 2025 . The event brought together industry experts, academics, innovators, and policymakers to mobilize a cross-sectoral ecosystem for scaling innovative, accessible research, science, and nature-based solutions. Focus Areas: Scaling Climate-Smart Agriculture, Unlocking Investment Opportunities, Global Leadership for MENAT, Collaborative Knowledge Sharing, Actionable Policy Dialogues, Innovation & Impact

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Venture Programme

The Venture Programme is an accelerator programme, launched in 2023, committed to supporting researchers and innovators that are developing solutions for the MENA region’s unique agricultural, food and water security, and climate challenges.

The programme aims to empower and up-skill researchers and science based innovators in regenerative and entrepreneurship skills needed to turn scientific research into proof of concepts and scalable solutions.

Discover More About the Venture Programme

Turbah:

The MENA Regenerative Agriculture – Citizen Science Project, endorsement under the the MENA Nature-Based Solutions Alliance, brings together farmers, researchers, and communities to raise awareness about regenerative agriculture. It collects meaningful soil data, demonstrates real-world practices on working farms, and educates the community on the journey of food and challenges faced by farmers. By showcasing live examples, the project encourages farmer adoption, supports evidence-based investment, and provides a platform for researchers to test and scale innovative solutions for a sustainable, resilient agricultural ecosystem.

Summit

Goumbook, under the patronage of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA) and hosted by Saudi Awwal Bank (SAB), presented the inaugural MENAT Regenerative Agriculture Summit. The event brought together industry experts, academics, innovators, and policymakers to mobilize a cross-sectoral ecosystem for scaling innovative, accessible research, science, and nature-based solutions.

Focus Areas: Scaling Climate-Smart Agriculture, Unlocking Investment Opportunities, Global Leadership for MENAT, Collaborative Knowledge Sharing, Actionable Policy Dialogues, Innovation & Impact

Read More About the MENAT Summit

Why Regenerative Agriculture?

Principles of Regenerative Agriculture

Regenerative agriculture is a series of holistic practices designed to create net positive beneficial impacts on ecosystem services.

This includes:

  • Improving net carbon sequestration,
  • Improving watershed and soil health and;
  • Promoting habitat rich in biodiversity while contributing to food security.

These principles are also reflected in the 2024–25 MENA Venture Programme winners, who are pioneering solutions in soil regeneration, water resilience, and food security.

By necessity, these practices  must provide net beneficial economic, environmental and social impacts for farmers and local communities if they are to be sustainable long term.

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Advisory Committee

Sheikh Dr Majid Al Qassimi
Founding Partner at
Soma Mater

Dr Mohammad Al-Oun
Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture Consultant

Yazen Al Kodmani
Partner at 3Y Agtech & Deputy GM at Emirates Bio Farm

Tatiana Antonelli Abella
Founder & Managing Director at Goumbook

Dominique Ghazar
Senior Sustainability and Inclusion Manager at HSBC

Christine Gould
Founder at GIGA

Dr Christoph Mandl
Head of Corporate Venturing at
European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) Food

Dr Roula Majdalani
Climate Change Advisor at
ICARDA - CGIAR

David Ramos
Senior Manager, Sustainability - MENAT - HSBC

Eman Wahby, Climate Champions Team, MENA Engagement, climate finance, sustainable development, policy, green growth, angel investor

Eman Wahby
MENA Engagement Lead at
The Climate Champions Team

Lucy Wallace
Founder
Liminal Thinking

Testimonials

“This initiative stands as a cornerstone in our efforts to promote regenerative agriculture research and practices in the Middle East, fortify food and water security, and contribute to the mitigation and adaptation of climate change!”
David RamosHead of Sustainability at HSBC Middle East
“The Regenerative Agriculture Venture Programme represents a convergence of scientific inquiry and practical application, aimed at enhancing soil vitality, conserving water, and securing food resources in a climate-impacted world. It's a visionary approach that seeks to not only mitigate environmental challenges but to regenerate the very foundation of our ecosystems. Our support signifies a deep investment in not just the present, but also in a thriving, sustainable legacy for our communities and the environment that sustains us all.”
Mai Bin DayelHead of Corporate Communications & ESG at SAB
“Regenerative agriculture offers one of the greatest opportunities to improve human and climate health. The Regenerative Agriculture Venture Programme offers researchers the opportunity to gain support from the most experienced, expert mentors and business leaders across the world and the MENAT region specifically. We are convinced that the challenges faced by our world today will not be solved without the disruptive innovations of great entrepreneurs and fast-moving startups. More than ever, they are an essential component of the future solutions and we are very proud to support those changemakers in the early stages of their future growth.”
Dr Christoph MandlHead of Corporate Venturing EIT Food

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