Turn desert into a soil

Oil has turned Qatar into a rich country with the highest per capita income in the world, but it has not been able to 'self-supply' food.

Like other 'oil-rich and fresh-water-lacking' countries in the Gulf, Qatar has invested in areas with a lot of agricultural land abroad (Sudan, Australia, Kenya .) to ensure food supply. Products.

Urgent

Qatar has also set a target of domestic food production by making large investments to increase crop yields and turn desert into agricultural land.

Successor prince Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani has just launched the National Food Security Program (QNFSP) to deal with 'one of the most pressing challenges' that Qatar is facing. Currently, this country of 1.7 million people has to import up to 90% of food.

Al Sulaiteen Farm (SAIC) is located in the desert. (Photo: REUTERS)

QNFSP Chairman Fahad Bin Mohammed al-Attiya said: 'Qatar currently has 1,400 farms and will increase to 3,000 farms under the new plan. We predict that domestic food production, if new technology is applied and implemented effectively, Qatar could easily meet 60% of the domestic market demand. '

Mr. Mohammed al-Attiya said: 'The time of QNFSP implementation is 10 years. By 2024, Qatar will have a fully functioning agricultural system. '

Qatar's agricultural farming methods include farming in the fields, greenhouses, smart watering and modern technologies that use less area and increase crop productivity up to 10 times. One of the typical farms is the Al Sulaiteen Complex of Agriculture and Industry (SAIC), located in the desert and not far from the capital Doha.

Good improvement

Mr. Mahmoud Refaat Shamardal, SAIC manager, said the complex is producing seasonal vegetables and flowering plants on an area of ​​40 hectares. Starting to go into production in 2001, SAIC is growing tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant and other vegetables through a perfect combination of traditional greenhouse, hydroponic and agricultural systems. . After that, SAIC products are provided to supermarkets and hotels.

Mr. Shamardal told Reuters news agency: 'We use artificial land to produce vegetables. With this system, we can save about 50% of the water; a very important factor in Qatar ' . As the aquifers have been depleted, QNFSP plans to desalinate, turning seawater into fresh water and using solar power from solar parks.

Mr. Attiya said the total cost for QNFSP has not been calculated. Qatar is not short of money and hopes the private sector will join the program.'Funding will come from both the private sector and the public sector. All functions of adjustment, research, education and policy will be completely covered by the state. The rest, such as the construction of photovoltaic plants, seawater desalination plants and upgrading of farms, will be undertaken by the private sector " - he said.

But many economists and Qatar agricultural experts say the plan is not economically significant and is not really necessary because the population is too small. Abdolreza Abbassian, an economist at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, said the plan was not promising because Qatar 'did not have much land to put into agricultural production because most of it was desert and people. very few numbers'.