Qatar has boosted food security by significantly since 2017, with examples including hydroponic agriculture, indoor poultry farms and flying in 18,000 dairy cows. In 2017 to address issue of food availability, 18,000 dairy cows were flown in to Qatar, to help bolster food supplies hampered by the desert climate and economic and political uncertainties, as part of a long-term strategy to boost food security. It may appear to be an over-optimistic initiative, but technological progress has enabled damp and temperate indoor conditions to be created, and the experiment has been such a success that you can now buy Qatari cheese. In a similar initiative, cool warehouses are used to rear poultry for consumption, with the result that Qatar has become 100% self-sufficient in fresh poultry. These are some of the examples of ingenious uses of technology and outside-the-box thinking that have helped Qatar become the second most food secure nation in the region, through its National Food Security Program, established in 2008. Greenhouses and hydroponics are other examples. In cool temperate zones, greenhouses are used to trap and magnify the effect of sunlight, those in Qatar have to deliver the opposite. Agrico is a Qatari volume producer of fruit and vegetables, using polycarbon greenhouses that are maintained at 28 degrees, typically 10-20 degrees cooler than the external daytime temperature. Hydroponics technology is used extensively in Qatar. It is a system of indoor cultivation that does not require soil, and is widely used for cultivating salad ingredients such as tomatoes, lettuce and peppers. Plants are grown in nutrient-rich water solutions. Of particular relevance to its use in a desert environment, hydroponics technology only needs around one third of the water of conventional horticulture. Qatar is increasingly using ‘grey’ water – recycled after treatment at sewage works – for cultivation. While indoor dairy and poultry farms may require significant energy use, the environmental impact of some aspects of Qatar’s agricultural revolution are low, especially when balanced against the reduced use of transport with fewer food items having to be imported. As well as using less water, hydroponics uses less land than equivalent methods. One initiative holds the promise to reduce environmental impact further. The Sahara Forest Project is an investment that is piloting a range of techniques, as part of an integrated system. Greenhouses use seawater to provide cool, humid conditions. These greenhouses themselves produce fresh water, and are linked to a solar power plant with thermal desalination unit. Part of the project involves re-vegetating arid land through irrigation, enabling the terrain to become a store of carbon. The state, through the Qatar Development Bank, has assisted the transition towards greater self-sufficiency in food through the arrangement of soft loans, and zero-interest finance for households to build their own greenhouse. The government has also invested heavily in food storage: The Strategic Food Security Facilities Terminal, on a 53-hectare site at Hamad Port, will provide two years’ worth of storage of essential food supplies. There are limits to self-sufficiency: Hydroponics techniques are not suitable for all products – hence the need for storage of imported commodities. Some consumers still prefer imported speciality products, such as European cheeses, on the basis of taste. But there is no doubt that Qatar, which has had significant population growth in recent years, is better able to feed its citizens and withstand rising global food prices, treating food security as an integral part of long-term economic development. An important consideration in such examples of innovation is to ensure that they are continued and replicated at scale, so as to make a significant impact in terms of food security, affordable prices and reduced imports. Otherwise, they could become just a novelty or a demonstration. It is necessary to demonstrate the benefits of innovations such as the Sahara Forest Project, by working with universities to research the impact. Findings should be published in the media, so as to aid accountability and support. There has been significant progress in innovative agriculture and food security in Qatar in recent years. It would help to research and publicise the effects, both to enhance public support and to spur further innovation in food security with even greater benefits. The author is a Qatari banker, with many years of experience in the banking sector in senior positions.
