From left: QNFSP chairman Fahad al-Attiyah, Oxfam CEO Dame Barbara Stocking and director of international development at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed al-Muraikhi, during a discussion on the challenges faced by Qatar in terms of food security
By Peter Townson/Staff Reporter

The Qatar National Food Security Programme (QNFSP) has announced its plans for creation of an international alliance of dryland nations to help contribute to the development of food security in the region by September of next year as the country aims to become food secure itself by 2024.
According to the chairman of the QNFSP, Fahad al-Attiyah, Qatar is currently working towards developing a comprehensive strategy to deal with the challenges associated with food security for a country without any usable water resources.
As part of that strategy, they are proposing the creation of an alliance of between 10 and 20 dryland nations to help develop best practice for countries facing similar problems.
The alliance, although still in the planning stages, will deal with the prevention and crisis response aspects of food security, providing a guarantee to member-states that other members will offer assistance during crises, based on the provison that they take steps to prevent shortage through implementing their own national development programmes as well.
Food security is one of the most significant issues facing Qatar today, and the country is aiming to increase domestic production and other means of ensuring a constant supply of food as it moves towards a future where the international situation is set to be increasingly uncertain.
The QNFSP is creating its masterplan over the next two years and will then enter the implementation phase from 2014-2024, al-Attiyah said yesterday, expressing his hope that Qatar’s food future will be secure within the ambitious target period of 13 years.
Al-Attiyah wanted Qatar to take a three-tiered approach to addressing food security issues, namely through domestic production, a diversified trade and investment programme and through strategic reserves and storage.
The issue of water usage is also a major concern to Qatar and other countries in the region, and al-Attiyah discussed the strategic partnership with German experts, DLR which will see the signing of an agreement this week to develop solar energy technology locally. The agreement will lead to the development of a number of sites, which will eventually produce some 1,800MW of power to 3.5mn cubic metres of desert land.
“For some countries, water resources represent a challenge, but for others it is a threat, and for us it is a threat,” he explained.
Al-Attiyah also spoke about the importance of education and vocational training in contributing towards a comprehensive masterplan, both to raise general awareness throughout the younger population in Qatar, but also to improve the performance of local farmers and increase the general efficiency of the agricultural sector here.
“With such a shortage of water, farmers need to be very efficient,” he said, adding “by providing vocational training we can help to increase their productivity and help the programme in Qatar.”
“We need policy, legislation and regulation,” he said, adding “they are at the centre of everything, and we need clarity to jumpstart the entire industry in Qatar.”
Director of the Qatar Development Fund and international development at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed al-Muraikhi spoke about the importance of collaboration with various partners throughout the world, such as Oxfam, whose CEO, Dame Barbara Stocking attended yesterday’s meeting, about ensuring the future of development as a whole, including humanitarian aims and food security.
He spoke about the significant problems posed by the increase in food prices around the world, and expressed his hope that policies can be formulated to deal with issues related to energy prices, market access and other factors contributing to increasing prices.
Referring to the developmental aid provided by Qatar to countries all over the world, al-Muraikhi explained that the country hopes to be at the forefront of international collaboration on food security and development issues in the future.
“Qatar wants to be a part of establishing international policies and regulations,” he said.
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