{"id":11532,"date":"2026-06-03T13:00:55","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T11:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shams-alyaoum.com\/en\/?p=11532"},"modified":"2026-06-03T13:00:55","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T11:00:55","slug":"almarai-launches-the-2026-cycle-of-the-worlds-largest-award-for-food-security-research-in-dryland-regions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shams-alyaoum.com\/en\/almarai-launches-the-2026-cycle-of-the-worlds-largest-award-for-food-security-research-in-dryland-regions\/","title":{"rendered":"Almarai Launches the 2026 Cycle of the World\u2019s Largest Award for Food Security Research in Dryland Regions"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li>The Almarai Prize &#8211; the international track of the Almarai Prize for Scientific Creativity &#8211; invites leading global research institutions and PhD\u2011holding scientists to nominate standout research that advances food security in dryland regions.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Self\u2011nominations<\/strong>\u00a0are not allowed; only PhD\u2011level nominators may submit, and institutions may nominate up to three projects.<\/li>\n<li>The prize totals USD 500,000 (SAR 1,875,000), awarded to one winning research project or institution.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The 2026 cycle of the <i>Almarai Prize<\/i>, international track of the\u00a0<i>Almarai Prize for Scientific Creativity<\/i>, has officially opened, calling on leading research institutions, distinguished scientists, and global experts to nominate pioneering research that advances food security in the world\u2019s driest regions.<\/p>\n<div class=\"content  content-justify \">\n<p>The prize reflects Saudi Arabia\u2019s expanding commitment to\u00a0<strong>scientific innovation<\/strong>\u00a0and to advancing solutions that tackle food security challenges in the world\u2019s dryland regions. Almarai &#8211; a regional leader in food and agriculture &#8211; has long invested in\u00a0<strong>scientific progress<\/strong><b>,<\/b>\u00a0sustainable farming, and long\u2011term food\u2011system resilience. As one of the world\u2019s largest vertically integrated food companies, Almarai continues to place research and innovation at the center of its strategy, recognizing them as essential drivers of global food security.<\/p>\n<p>Recognized as the world\u2019s largest award dedicated to food security research in dryland environments, the prize reflects a partnership between Almarai and King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) that has spanned more than 20 years. It honors scientists and research institutions whose work delivers measurable impact and advances global knowledge on food security in arid and semi\u2011arid regions.<\/p>\n<p>The Almarai Prize follows a distinctive nomination model: individuals cannot nominate themselves. Instead, nominations must come from qualified PhD\u2011level experts, while research organizations may nominate exceptional work carried out by their teams. This model reinforces the integrity and global standing of the award. The total prize value of USD 500,000 is granted to one winning research project or institution, furthering Almarai\u2019s commitment to supporting high\u2011impact scientific innovation.<\/p>\n<p>Commenting on the launch of the new cycle, Mr. Abdullah Alkhalid, Secretary\u2011General of the Almarai Prize for Scientific Creativity, said:<br \/>\n\u201cThe Almarai Prize reflects our commitment to advancing global food security through scientific innovation. By highlighting groundbreaking research that addresses the challenges of food security in dryland regions, we aim to contribute to solutions that benefit communities around the world. We believe that empowering researchers and institutions is essential to building a more resilient, sustainable, and knowledge\u2011driven future.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nominations are open until 21 August 2026, and are limited to qualified PhD holders and recognized research institutions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Almarai Prize &#8211; the international track of the Almarai Prize for Scientific Creativity &#8211; invites leading global research institutions and PhD\u2011holding scientists to nominate standout research that advances food security in dryland regions. Self\u2011nominations\u00a0are not allowed; only PhD\u2011level nominators may submit, and institutions may nominate up to three projects. The prize totals USD 500,000 &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[9,1405,1310,1281],"class_list":["post-11532","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-business","tag-environment","tag-general","tag-government"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Almarai Launches the 2026 Cycle of the World\u2019s Largest Award for Food Security Research in Dryland Regions - Magazine Shams Al Yaoum<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/shams-alyaoum.com\/en\/almarai-launches-the-2026-cycle-of-the-worlds-largest-award-for-food-security-research-in-dryland-regions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Almarai Launches the 2026 Cycle of the World\u2019s Largest Award for Food Security Research in Dryland Regions - Magazine Shams Al Yaoum\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Almarai Prize &#8211; the international track of the Almarai Prize for Scientific Creativity &#8211; invites leading global research institutions and PhD\u2011holding scientists to nominate standout research that advances food security in dryland regions. Self\u2011nominations\u00a0are not allowed; only PhD\u2011level nominators may submit, and institutions may nominate up to three projects. The prize totals USD 500,000 &hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/shams-alyaoum.com\/en\/almarai-launches-the-2026-cycle-of-the-worlds-largest-award-for-food-security-research-in-dryland-regions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Magazine Shams Al Yaoum\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-03T11:00:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"shamsalyaoum\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"shamsalyaoum\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shams-alyaoum.com\/en\/almarai-launches-the-2026-cycle-of-the-worlds-largest-award-for-food-security-research-in-dryland-regions\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/shams-alyaoum.com\/en\/almarai-launches-the-2026-cycle-of-the-worlds-largest-award-for-food-security-research-in-dryland-regions\/\",\"name\":\"Almarai Launches the 2026 Cycle of the World\u2019s Largest Award for Food Security Research in Dryland Regions - Magazine Shams Al Yaoum\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shams-alyaoum.com\/en\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-03T11:00:55+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shams-alyaoum.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/6e4dae56c61a28d2d84c342a9a53d199\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shams-alyaoum.com\/en\/almarai-launches-the-2026-cycle-of-the-worlds-largest-award-for-food-security-research-in-dryland-regions\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/shams-alyaoum.com\/en\/almarai-launches-the-2026-cycle-of-the-worlds-largest-award-for-food-security-research-in-dryland-regions\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shams-alyaoum.com\/en\/almarai-launches-the-2026-cycle-of-the-worlds-largest-award-for-food-security-research-in-dryland-regions\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/shams-alyaoum.com\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Almarai Launches the 2026 Cycle of the World\u2019s Largest Award for Food Security Research in Dryland Regions\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shams-alyaoum.com\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/shams-alyaoum.com\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Magazine Shams Al Yaoum\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/shams-alyaoum.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shams-alyaoum.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/6e4dae56c61a28d2d84c342a9a53d199\",\"name\":\"shamsalyaoum\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shams-alyaoum.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/11774fd6260846ea4d3230345b47c868eaffb0fe76386b1a8b3cc24c8dc91f3d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/11774fd6260846ea4d3230345b47c868eaffb0fe76386b1a8b3cc24c8dc91f3d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"shamsalyaoum\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/shams-alyaoum.com\/en\/author\/shamsalyaoum\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Almarai Launches the 2026 Cycle of the World\u2019s Largest Award for Food Security Research in Dryland Regions - Magazine Shams Al Yaoum","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/shams-alyaoum.com\/en\/almarai-launches-the-2026-cycle-of-the-worlds-largest-award-for-food-security-research-in-dryland-regions\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Almarai Launches the 2026 Cycle of the World\u2019s Largest Award for Food Security Research in Dryland Regions - Magazine Shams Al Yaoum","og_description":"The Almarai Prize &#8211; the international track of the Almarai Prize for Scientific Creativity &#8211; invites leading global research institutions and PhD\u2011holding scientists to nominate standout research that advances food security in dryland regions. Self\u2011nominations\u00a0are not allowed; only PhD\u2011level nominators may submit, and institutions may nominate up to three projects. The prize totals USD 500,000 &hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/shams-alyaoum.com\/en\/almarai-launches-the-2026-cycle-of-the-worlds-largest-award-for-food-security-research-in-dryland-regions\/","og_site_name":"Magazine Shams Al Yaoum","article_published_time":"2026-06-03T11:00:55+00:00","author":"shamsalyaoum","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"shamsalyaoum","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/shams-alyaoum.com\/en\/almarai-launches-the-2026-cycle-of-the-worlds-largest-award-for-food-security-research-in-dryland-regions\/","url":"https:\/\/shams-alyaoum.com\/en\/almarai-launches-the-2026-cycle-of-the-worlds-largest-award-for-food-security-research-in-dryland-regions\/","name":"Almarai Launches the 2026 Cycle of the World\u2019s Largest Award for Food Security Research in Dryland Regions - Magazine Shams Al Yaoum","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/shams-alyaoum.com\/en\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-06-03T11:00:55+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/shams-alyaoum.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/6e4dae56c61a28d2d84c342a9a53d199"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/shams-alyaoum.com\/en\/almarai-launches-the-2026-cycle-of-the-worlds-largest-award-for-food-security-research-in-dryland-regions\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/shams-alyaoum.com\/en\/almarai-launches-the-2026-cycle-of-the-worlds-largest-award-for-food-security-research-in-dryland-regions\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/shams-alyaoum.com\/en\/almarai-launches-the-2026-cycle-of-the-worlds-largest-award-for-food-security-research-in-dryland-regions\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/shams-alyaoum.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Almarai Launches the 2026 Cycle of the World\u2019s Largest Award for Food Security Research in Dryland Regions"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/shams-alyaoum.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/shams-alyaoum.com\/en\/","name":"Magazine Shams Al Yaoum","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/shams-alyaoum.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/shams-alyaoum.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/6e4dae56c61a28d2d84c342a9a53d199","name":"shamsalyaoum","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/shams-alyaoum.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/11774fd6260846ea4d3230345b47c868eaffb0fe76386b1a8b3cc24c8dc91f3d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/11774fd6260846ea4d3230345b47c868eaffb0fe76386b1a8b3cc24c8dc91f3d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"shamsalyaoum"},"url":"https:\/\/shams-alyaoum.com\/en\/author\/shamsalyaoum\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shams-alyaoum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11532","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shams-alyaoum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shams-alyaoum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shams-alyaoum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shams-alyaoum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11532"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/shams-alyaoum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11532\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11533,"href":"https:\/\/shams-alyaoum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11532\/revisions\/11533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shams-alyaoum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shams-alyaoum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shams-alyaoum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}