By Abdul Bari Kareem, Co-founder and CTO, T57

On January 26, 2026, I sat in the audience at Gulfood listening to our Founder, Chairman, and Head of Strategy, Afzal Hussain Mohammed Nakheeb, speak on the panel “Break-Through Technologies and AI-Powered Automations: Strategic Value Creators for an Intelligent Food System.” He was joined by Shail Khiyara, CEO of Swarm, Marc Oshima, CEO of Oshima Good Food, and Dr. Grace S. Thomson, Director of the AI Policy Clinics at the Center for AI & Digital Policy (CAIDP). Hearing them on that stage in Dubai, with the global food industry all around us, crystallized for me what we at T57 must focus our energies on.

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By Afzal Hussain Mohammed Nakheeb, Founder, Chairman & Head of Strategy, T57

“Don't attempt to scale AI; attempt to scale your decision first and pick that high-stakes decision. AI gives you a gift and a choice. The gift is that of time, and the choice is: what are we going to do with it?” I felt that Shail Khiyara’s words captured the tone for our Gulfood 2026 panel discussion on “Break-Through Technologies and AI-Powered Automations: Strategic Value Creators for an Intelligent Food System.” His words stayed with me long after he spoke

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By Afzal Hussain Mohammed Nakheeb, Founder, Chairman & Head of Strategy, T57

As 2026 dawns, the Indian agricultural sector stands at a critical inflection point where policy ambition converges with the hard realities of climate risk and global market volatility. For industry experts and policymakers worldwide, India is no longer just a participant in the global food system but a primary driver of its demand dynamics and digital transformation. We believe five pivotal developments will redefine the landscape for agricultural trade, agri-commodity trading, and food security in the coming year.
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By Afzal Hussain Mohammed Nakheeb, Founder, Chairman & Head of Strategy, T57

Agriculture has always been close to my heart, and it is also the heartbeat of any thriving economy's identity. When I look at agri-dependent regions, I do not see statistics or supply chains first; I see farmers, family businesses, and entire communities whose livelihoods rise and fall with the harvest. That is why the recent signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between T57 and MAIB (part of the International Assembly of Islamic Business) is significant to me: it is a commitment to putting farmers and agri-entrepreneurs at the center of a new, technology-enabled growth story.

Why does agriculture matter so much?
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By Afzal Hussain Mohammed Nakheeb, Founder, Chairman & Head of Strategy, T57

In agricultural markets, trust isn't just a nicety. It is currency. Yet outdated payment systems routinely trap millions of farmers in cycles of financial uncertainty. When substantial transactions vanish into bureaucratic black holes for weeks, the real cost isn't measured in delayed interest—it's calculated in the broken livelihoods of farming communities.

Even sophisticated financial corridors struggle with these inefficiencies. A recent inter-company transfer between my Dubai and Saudi operations took three weeks to clear—a stark reminder that if large businesses face such delays, imagine the devastation for cash-strapped farmers operating on razor-thin margins.

What is the impact of delayed payments on farmers?
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By Afzal Hussain Mohammed Nakheeb, Founder, Chairman & Head of Strategy, T57

Across global trade, a $2.5 trillion financing gap locks out countless businesses from participating in commerce. The agriculture sector is among the hardest hit. Farmers, cooperatives, processors, and agri-SMEs struggle to secure the working capital they need to buy inputs, pay labor, move goods, and fulfil export contracts, even as the world produces enough food to feed everyone. The result is a paradox: food is grown, but often never reaches the people who need it most.​

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By Afzal Hussain Mohammed Nakheeb, Founder, Chairman & Head of Strategy, T57

In the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and beyond, as many as 40% of farmers continue to use hand tools and face immense challenges against middlemen networks that have dominated trade for over a hundred years¹. The outcome is grim: farmers in countries such as India, Egypt, and Nigeria earn barely enough to subsist. Equally disturbing is that end consumers are left paying exorbitant prices. The system’s design leads to untold stress in the farming community, often resulting in farmer suicides and perpetuating poverty^{2 3}. This crisis is so pervasive that words fail to convey its depth. For a majority of the estimated 624 million farmers worldwide^4, the unyielding uncertainty inflicted by the traditional agricultural and trade system turns life's simplest hopes—to provide, to endure, to dream—into distant possibilities. To me and a handful of close associates, this didn’t look like mere poverty; it was a painful and relentless erosion of dignity and possibility. The world cannot look away from such heartbreak. We could not, especially in an age when technology can create solutions to this unforgiving system.

Is technology the real answer?

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