The value of home gardens has become more apparent among tenants forced into isolation in difficult and uncertain times arising since the COVID-19 pandemic started at the beginning of 2020. While gardens make a significant contribution to the social and ecological environment of cities, most studies have focused on public green spaces. Investigating householder preferences for gardens during and after the mandatory lockdown period in the UAE is required. The main objective of this study is to analyze the householder’s attitude, preferences, and willingness to have home gardens during the pandemic and after. The data were collected via an online survey of randomly selected respondents. A logistic econometrical model was utilized to analyze the factors affecting respondent preferences regarding having a garden. According to the results, the probability of having a garden increases among respondents who produce some crops, have attained Msc/PhD. level, a backyard, and a larger space to cultivate. It decreases among those who are married, find it hard to take care of a garden, and face a weed problem. In conclusions, it is highly recommended for householders to have home gardens, which can provide a quality lifestyle and enhance leisure time during the pandemic and after.

The objective of this research was to study the behavior and attitudes of consumers from the United Arab Emirates towards using the World Wide Web (WWW) for ordering food online, as well as their perception of social media’s (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and WhatsApp) impact on increasing their knowledge about their food quality options. This research question targets social media’s role in aiding consumer decision-making with regard to enhanced food quality choices and thus enhanced food security. The results of this study showed that about 50% of the respondents frequently use a website to order food online in the study area. The analysis of the survey results showed a strong correlation between the frequency of food ordered online by consumers and the number of consumers who sought specific information about food quality, such as those who wished to obtain information about special diets for both medical and non-medical purposes. A strong correlation was also found to exist between the frequency of ordering food online and consumers who often inquired about buying organic food. Furthermore, the authors found the potential and the need for more transparency and enhancement when exchanging information between online food providers and consumers, in order to achieve the country’s food security goal of better consumer access to food quality information.

The fishing industry in Abu-Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), plays an important role in diversifying food sources in order to enhance national food security. The fishing industry is facing an increasing risk that may impact the sustainability (i.e., quantity and quality) of the fish caught and consumed in the UAE. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to analyze common Abu-Dhabi fishing management alternatives using various stochastic dominance techniques (i.e., first/second degree stochastic dominance, stochastic dominance with respect to a function and stochastic efficiency with respect to a function) to assess the risk facing UAE fishermen. The techniques represent a risk assessment continuum, which can provide a ranking of management alternatives to improve decision making outcomes and help maintain long-term UAE fishing sustainability. Data for the stochastic dominance analyses were obtained from a cross-sectional survey conducted through face-to-face interviews of Abu Dhabi, UAE, fishermen. Analysis of fishing methods, trap sizes and trap numbers using stochastic efficiency with respect to a function (SERF) showed that fishermen efficient practices were not the same for risk-neutral fishermen compared to risk averse fishermen. Overall, the stochastic dominance results illustrated the importance of considering both attitude towards risk and economic inefficiencies in managing UAE fishery practices and designing successful fishery policies, as well as improving decision-making at the fishermen level.

The success of innovations in food industry mainly depends on consumers’ involvement in the process. Consumers’ trust on developed innovative food products or food production technologies can enhance acceptance/adaptation of them. Consumer acceptance of innovations in general, and technology-based food advances in particular, have been studied extensively. They cover a wide range of facets of the consumer adoption process, from awareness to actual adoption. However, there is a lack of a comprehensive and systematic overview that includes all potentially influential determinants. To fill this gap, we used a conceptual framework for consumer acceptance and adaptation of food innovations. The question needs to be answered is, how consumers perceive sustainable innovations in food products, the way the perception affects their perceived risk & uncertainty, perceived cost/benefit, and attitude strengths toward the innovations? A questionnaire was developed and implemented via stratified random sampling on 400 selected consumers in UAE consumers. Confirmatory factor analysis and a structural equation model (SEM) were used to analyze the general fit of the proposed model and test the developed hypotheses. According to the results the perception of sustainable food innovations is directly affected by some contextual factors (relative advantage, complexity, and observability) determined as product characteristics and mediates the relationship between those factors and consumer adaptation of the innovation which is affected by perceived cost/benefit, perceived risk & uncertainty, and attitudes