The consistent efforts of Qatar government and in particular the Ministry of Municipality and Environment which are being aggressively pursued in post siege scenario to achieve self sufficiency in dairy and agricultural production have started bearing fruits.
The Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME) has undertaken many initiatives to develop the agricultural sector through providing support to farms and investors. Qatari local vegetable sales surged over 16 percent in December 2018 compared to the previous month (November 2018) at winter vegetable markets due to growing production of local seasonal vegetables.
The winter vegetable markets operating at Al Mazrouah, Al Khor-and-Dhakhira, Al Wakrah and Al Shamal sold a total of 870 tonnes of vegetables in December which is an average of 218 tonnes of per week, said Agricultural Affairs Department at the Ministry of Municipality and Environment in a statement.
The agricultural strategy of Qatar endeavours to reduce dependence on imports and achieving self-sufficiency in vegetables and it is based on the expansion plans to produce more agricultural products and other food items including vegetables, dates, red meat, poultry, egg, fish, milk and green fodder.
According to recent media reports, there are about 1,200 farms in Qatar (most of them located in the northern areas), among them 300 are active and they are marketing their products in the country.
The local production of vegetables represents about 18 percent. Some products have achieved a big percentage and hope by next few years, Qatar will achieve self sufficiency in those kinds of vegetables.
Since the siege was imposed on Qatar last year, Qatari farms have increased their produce by more than 100 percent, and over 400 protected houses (shaded agricultural facilities) were also built at a number of farms.
In accordance with Qatar National Vision 2030, Qatar will become almost self-sufficient in some agricultural sectors by 2022. Another official at the Ministry had earlier said that Qatar’s self-sufficiency reached 98 percent in the production of fresh chicken, adding that local vegetables meet big portion of market demand as tomato, cucumber and green chilly were covering 40 percent, 60 percent and 42 percent of Qatar’s total requirement.
To achieve food self-sufficiency targets, the Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME) announced in November last year launching of 34 new strategic agricultural investment projects for vegetable production using modern farming technologies including greenhouses.
The MME had said that the project would be carried out in phases, and an area of about 100,000sqm will be allocated for each project. The Ministry had further said that the aim of these projects is to stimulate fresh vegetable production in order to achieve the highest possible level of self-sufficiency.
