Doha
Imparting a great impetus for food security in the country, Zulal Oasis, a subsidiary of Hassad Food, has implemented an integrated production technology, 'Zulal Oasis Technology' to grow agriculture products all through the year.
The company officials announced yesterday that the technology could produce over 37kg of vegetables of highest quality per square metre, which is a very high yield. Zulal Oasis will hold an open day for the local farmers, specialists and investors in the field of agriculture at its Al Shahanyiah farm on Thursday.
The pilot research and development project aims to overcome the challenges facing the local agriculture such as, high temperature and humidity, lack of ground water as well as arable lands. Farmers using the integrated production system developed by Zulal Oasis will be able to produce high quality vegetables throughout the year.
Nasser Mohamed al-Hajri, chairman and managing director of Hassad Food said, “We launched Zulal Oasis in 2013, through a partnership between Hassad Food and Oasis Agrotechnology, a consortium led by Primaflor Group, the leading greenhouse and production technology company in Europe, to test and adapt the company’s technology to the local climate”.
“The pilot project has achieved great success.The technology proved to be perfectly suited for Qatar’s climate; it also exceeded expectations regarding the yield and quality, producing more than 37kg of highest quality European Standard,” he added.
The Zulal Oasis technology was developed as an integrated farming system that operates efficiently by utilising the local climate conditions, while efficiently using and recycling 100% of the irrigation water.
The new generation of hydroponic greenhouses tops the achievements of Zulal Oasis; with its long-life strong structure, state of the art design and technological advances makes this agricultural technology the most advanced, efficient and suitable for arid climates.
The greenhouse design is based upon a comprehensive concept, using cutting-edge technology such as the worldwide-patented crop system; New Growing System (NGS), the most advanced hydroponic system in the world. It has several state of the art advantages such as, not using soil or substrate materials for agriculture, natural self-purification, maximum development of roots and 100% recirculating nutrient solution.
The NGS system provides comprehensive standard irrigation system making it the most efficient for farmers in terms of productivity, strength and health of plants, saving water and fertilisers, as well as uniformity and quality of the products.
The Dry Air Cooling System (DACS) is an automated smart climate control system used by Zulal Oasis for cooling the greenhouses. It operates with the highest efficiency in terms of uniformly cooling all the parametres of the greenhouse. The DACS technology has been adapted to the local weather and humidity, to provide the optimum environment for plants throughout the year; additionally this unique system consumes no water for operation and provides no moisture.
The Zulal Oasis technology is financially viable, as the cost of production is highly competitive and lower than imported products of the same quality. It also allows diversification in the produced crops regardless of the season to meet the market demand.
