Key Takeaways
- Goumbook, led by Founder & Managing Director Tatiana Antonelli Abella, is a social enterprise focused on accelerating sustainability and climate action in the UAE and wider MENA region, with a growing emphasis on regenerative agriculture and soil health.
- The MENA Regenerative Agriculture Initiative, launched in December 2023, seeks to build a coordinated regional movement, backed by a Venture Programme, a stakeholder network, and a dedicated summit to scale science-based, arid-climate solutions.
- MENA’s agricultural context is defined by severe constraints—limited arable land, extreme water scarcity, and land degradation—requiring new region-specific regenerative practices such as drought-tolerant crops, soil amendments, no-till systems, and precision irrigation.
- Economic, technical, policy, and structural barriers form an interconnected system that slows adoption; Goumbook’s multi-stakeholder, ecosystem approach is designed to address these challenges simultaneously rather than in isolation.
- Looking to 2035, Goumbook aims to act as a regional mobilizer and ecosystem builder, supporting open-source soil data, innovation acceleration, farmer transition, and an annual summit to help position MENA as a global center of excellence for arid climate-resilient agriculture.
Goumbook’s Evolving Mission in a Changing Region
For more than 15 years, Goumbook has positioned itself as a regional catalyst for sustainability and climate action. As Founder & Managing Director Tatiana Antonelli Abella explains, “Goumbook is a social enterprise dedicated to accelerating sustainability and climate action in the UAE and beyond since 2009.”
She describes the organization’s role as shaping the sustainability landscape by “offering local solutions to corporates, youth, civil society, and the public sector.” Central to this mission is a commitment to ensure that “our region's priorities are at the forefront of global sustainability efforts.” Goumbook’s work ranges from awareness programmes to consulting efforts aimed at “chang[ing] mindsets and creat[ing] impact on the current and future living experience of the people in our region.”
This mission has increasingly expanded into agriculture, soil health, and land restoration, culminating in the launch of one of their most ambitious programmes to date.
Building a Regenerative Agriculture Movement in MENA
In December 2023, Goumbook launched the MENA Regenerative Agriculture Initiative, a regional effort designed to address the unique agricultural constraints of arid climates. According to Tatiana, the initiative “aims to drive awareness around MENA-related agricultural challenges and create a regenerative agriculture movement, mobilise key cross-sectoral stakeholders, rally a supportive and enabling ecosystem to scale innovation and accessible research, sciences, and nature-based solutions.”
The initiative is implemented “in partnership with HSBC and Saudi Awwal Bank (SAB), with technical support from the European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT Food) and strategic alignment with the United Nations Climate Change High Level Champions.” Through its multi-stakeholder framework, it aims “to translate policy commitments into tangible, scalable action for sustainable agricultural transformation in the MENA region.”
Its core objectives include:
- Positioning the region as “a seedbed of innovation for climate resilient agriculture solutions”
- Creating a MENA regenerative agriculture movement and awareness
- Supporting and building the knowledge economy through research, science and data-backed solutions
- Developing “a regional regenerative agriculture stakeholder network & enabling ecosystem” to scale accessible innovations
At the heart of this approach is MENA Regenerative Agriculture Venture Programme by Goumbook, an early-stage accelerator that has grown rapidly. “We have seen remarkable growth from 160 registrations in Year 1 to 500+ in Year 2,” Tatiana notes, spanning 65 countries and engaging over 80 research institutions, with more than 90 hours of mentorship and grants “up to $20,000 for top solutions.” This momentum contributed to the first MENAT Regenerative Agriculture Summit in Riyadh in May 2025, bringing together more than 120 participants from FAO, ICARDA, IFPRI, corporates, and government bodies for discussions on policy, innovation, and implementation.
Why Regenerative Agriculture Must Look Different in MENA
Tatiana outlines the structural reality: “The MENA region context is unique and facing extreme constraints.” The region must feed a population projected to reach 724 million by 2050 with “less than 5% arable land, only 1% of global freshwater resources, and over 46 million hectares of degraded agricultural land,” while food imports already account for 48–89% of consumption, reaching 89% in GCC countries.
“MENA cannot simply adapt agricultural practices from Europe or North America,” she emphasizes. “The region must pioneer entirely new approaches for arid-climate agriculture.”
Water scarcity is the defining constraint: “MENA is the most water-scarce region in the world. Agriculture consumes 85% of available water resources,” leading to groundwater over-extraction and unsustainable patterns. Climate extremes are intensifying, with temperatures projected to rise by 1.5–3°C by 2050, and the region already facing “devastating floods, prolonged droughts, severe heatwaves, and acute water scarcity with increasing frequency.”
These pressures create both urgency and opportunity. “MENA's constraints position the region to lead global innovation,” Tatiana notes, as more regions globally begin to face similar water and heat-related stress.
Practices That Are Working on the Ground
The initiative is grounded in specific practices that have shown promise under regional conditions. Tatiana lists several examples:
- Crop choices and genetics: “Selecting drought-tolerant native varieties and climate-adapted crops like millet, sorghum, and indigenous legumes that require less water and thrive in harsh conditions.”
- Soil amendments: “Incorporating organic matter through composting, using biochar to improve water retention, liquid natural clay, and applying microbial inoculants that enhance nutrient availability in challenging soils.”
- Management practices: “Implementing techniques like no-till farming to preserve soil structure, using cover crops to prevent erosion, and practicing rotational grazing that allows land to recover while maintaining productivity.”
- Agtech tools: “Deploying precision irrigation systems that optimize water use, soil sensors that monitor moisture and nutrients in real-time, and decision-support apps that help farmers time interventions based on local conditions.”
“Together, these approaches transform arid agriculture from a system that exhausts the land into one that actively regenerates it,” she says, making farms more productive and sustainable under some of the world’s most challenging conditions.
Barriers: Economic, Technical, Policy, and Structural
Tatiana’s assessment of barriers is systemic. Economically, “the time to transition to regenerative farming means farmers lose income without premium pricing, small-scale farmers cannot afford this gap.” Input costs remain high, and only higher-income consumers can consistently pay price premiums.
On the technical side, “professional training is scarce and expensive, a 12-day permaculture course costs €2,000, beyond reach for most farmers,” and “resources are rarely available in Arabic.” The closed-door consultation Goumbook convened in Riyadh emphasized “applied research over lab-centric work,” as current research “doesn't translate into practical, on-farm solutions.” Critically, “modern technology should complement rather than replace tradition,” yet local knowledge is “often dismissed,” undermining farmer trust and adoption.
Policy frameworks are also misaligned. “Regenerative agriculture isn't prioritized by most policymakers,” Tatiana notes. The consultation confirmed that “policy frameworks need realignment with regenerative objectives” and called for “systems-level policy approaches” instead of fragmented interventions. Subsidies still favour conventional inputs, and certification remains complex and expensive.
Structurally, land fragmentation, water conflict, and political instability—especially in conflict-affected areas—further constrain change. “These barriers form an interconnected system,” she says. “Addressing one in isolation does not enable transition. Farmers need simultaneous solutions across financial support, knowledge access, market connections, and enabling policies.”
Signals That Regenerative Agriculture Can Scale In MENA & Beyond
Despite these barriers, Tatiana points to clear signals that scaling is underway. Market demand for “healthier, nutritious food” is rising, the global organic market exceeded €120 billion in 2020, and corporations are investing in farmer transition programmes.
She highlights SEKEM and the Egyptian Biodynamic Association (EBDA) as “two of the most influential actors” demonstrating scalable regenerative models in the region. Since 1977, SEKEM has transformed approximately 1,800 hectares of Egyptian desert into productive biodynamic farmland. EBDA has trained over 1,500 farmers, with more than 30,000 now participating in the Economy of Love standard, combining biodynamic certification with carbon credits and sequestering over 260,000 tonnes of CO₂ in two years.
“The key questions have shifted from ‘does this work?’ to ‘how do we finance transitions and build infrastructure?’” Tatiana notes. “These are execution questions, not viability questions.”
Why 2035 Matters
Tatiana chose 2035 as a reference year because it is “a critical climate action milestone,” tied to national climate plans (NDCs 3.0) and efforts to limit global warming to 1.5°C. She points out that regenerative agriculture’s primary value is “its ability to restore soil health to capture and sequester carbon,” with soil carbon sequestration potentially capturing up to 23 gigatonnes of CO₂ by 2050.
On the finance side, COP29 targeted 2035 for mobilizing $300 billion annually in climate finance. This alignment, she argues, “creates accountability for channelling resources to regenerative agriculture as a climate solution, while building essential infrastructure.”
Soil as Biological Infrastructure and Business Models in MENA
Tatiana describes soil as “three-dimensional biological infrastructure, a living system where minerals, organic matter, water, air, and billions of microorganisms interact to produce 95% of our food, store 2-3 times more carbon than the atmosphere, and harbor 59% of all life on Earth.” Yet soil remains “the poor nephew of international environmental law,” lacking global monitoring, common definitions, protection instruments, and financial architecture.
For MENA, she argues that viable regenerative models “require blended revenue streams.” Carbon markets still face infrastructure gaps, and payment for ecosystem services lacks robust frameworks despite acute water challenges. “The practical model combines immediate productivity gains with supply-chain premiums for export crops,” she notes. Water services, in particular, offer a strong case: improved soil organic matter “dramatically increases water retention in water-scarce environments,” delivering measurable value before carbon markets fully mature.
This requires transition finance through mechanisms like COP30’s RAIZ accelerator and patient capital that recognizes the timelines for return on investment.
Goumbook’s Vision for 2035
Looking ahead, Tatiana sees Goumbook continuing “serving as a mobilizer and ecosystem builder.” “We don’t implement ourselves,” she explains, “we act as the enabler, and accelerator of a thriving ecosystem across five key pillars: Education & Awareness, Advocacy, Research & Innovation, Scaling & Finance, and Demonstration & Adoption.”
Their vision includes a regional open-source soil database that brings together citizens and research communities, making data accessible to researchers, farmers, investors, and policymakers. Through accelerator programmes, Goumbook aims to “build capacity among researchers, equipping them with skills to scale and bring innovations to market, and support farmers in transitioning to regenerative practices for more resilient communities.”
The organisation plans to “educate citizens and strengthen community resilience by deploying eco-restoration camps with partner support,” while advancing the carbon farming economy by bridging farmers and investment communities. An annual summit will serve as “the must-attend convening platform,” positioning Goumbook as a trusted neutral party.
“Our ultimate goal,” Tatiana concludes, “is to position MENA as the global center of excellence for arid climate-resilient agriculture.”
