Hydroponics, the method of growing plants in a water-based, nutrient-rich solution, will significantly help Qatar in attaining food security, a Qatari farm owner has suggested, citing the system’s many advantages compared to the conventional method.
“Hydroponics is the future of agriculture,” Ali Ahmad Saad Mansour al-Kaabi told Gulf Times yesterday on the sidelines of the Mahaseel Festival, organised by Katara – the Cultural Village, in collaboration with the Agricultural Affairs Department at the Ministry of Municipality and Environment.
His Global Farm, one of the 22 Qatari farms participating in the first edition of the festival, showcases and sells vegetables and fruits grown from hydroponics.
From building a small home-made system for himself, al-Kaabi said he now has a 5,000sq m facility at his farm that operates for commercial purposes.
He described the system as a promising agricultural technology capable of producing high quality vegetables and fruits, as well as ornamental plants, faster than traditional farming.
Besides from saving around 70% of water and requiring less labour, the farm owner pointed out that hydroponics uses space more efficiently and can achieve higher yields in a shorter period.
“For example, if you are going to plant strawberries in a 40x9sq m greenhouse in traditional farming, it can take only 1,250 plants. But now in my farm, with the same area, some 8,000 can be planted, which is eight times the number,” he explained.
Residents can also enjoy and reap all the health benefits of eating fresh produce coming from local farms, according to al-Kaabi, claiming that the taste is better than imported products.
Global Farm uses different types of designs for its hydroponics such as those from Holland, Spain and China. Due to the growing popularity of the system, al-Kaabi cited an increasing number of farms in Qatar that mulls adopting it. About two to three are doing it.
“We made hydroponics system for houses too because not everyone has a farm, but everyone has a home, ” he noted.
It is learnt that an increasing number of residents in Doha have started growing some vegetables such as bok choy, celery, cherry tomato, and lettuce, among others using the system especially during the winter.
Asked about its future, al-Kaabi said several countries in various regions are now tackling food security and water seriously “on how to save more” due to rapidly growing populations.
“All of them will consider hydroponics in the future to produce more to meet the growing demand for food,” he predicted. Page 20
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