With less than 1% arable land and imports covering about 70% of its food consumption in the Gulf, Bahrain has made food security a national priority that now extends beyond its borders. The kingdom’s official strategy explicitly recommends “securing plots in other countries” to develop agricultural investments, and Africa with its available cultivable land is emerging as a strategic partner.
The most concrete precedent is the “Khairat Bahrain” project in Sudan. Mumtalakat, Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund, operates a 420-square-kilometer estate located on the Nubian sandstone basin, one of the world’s richest groundwater reserves.
The project, Bahrain’s first agricultural investment abroad, illustrates the logic: mobilizing foreign land and water resources to secure national supplies of cereals and livestock.
Despite disruptions linked to Sudan’s political situation, the agreement has been restored a sign of Manama’s determination to preserve this pillar.
Cooperation is not limited to land acquisitions. In February 2026, Bahrain signed a memorandum of understanding with Morocco in agricultural production, animal development and food security.
In June of the same year, the Bahraini Businessmen’s Association took part in the International Food Industries Exhibition for Africa in Tunis, with the stated aim of opening new markets and building lasting partnerships in the agri-food sector.
For African countries with land, the challenge is to turn these partnerships into technology transfers, job creation and infrastructure, rather than simple land concessions.
Bahrain’s food security can become a lever for African agricultural development provided the terms of exchange are negotiated with lucidity.
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