The Qatar agriculture sector’s self-sufficiency efforts will get a further boost with a plan to develop 1mn sq m of land for indoor farming, prominent Qatari agriculturist Nasser Ahmed al-Khalaf told Gulf Times.
“Now we are developing other farms, and we have some other projects under study, which can reach 1mn sq m in total,” said al-Khalaf,
He is the owner and managing director of Agrico.
A private Qatari agricultural development company, Agrico was established in 2011 with the aim of helping the country achieve food security.
Agrico operates a 120,000 sq m (12 hectare) organic farm in Al Khor.
Al-Khalaf said that the 1mn sq m project will involve more than four local farms, and could be in operation by the end of 2019 or early 2020 if plans are pushed through as scheduled.
“Currently we are running the feasibility study and the drawings,” he noted, adding that such an initiative can significantly help the country’s efforts for self-sufficiency.
Al-Khalaf said that Agrico has been investing in research and development, trying to develop indoor farming, in the past two and a half years to produce fresh vegetables all year long in Qatar.
“We have modified technology developed in the West, and adapted it even further to have a unique system,” he stressed.
The agriculturist cited a significant increase in the production of fresh vegetables this winter, covering more than 20% of the country’s total consumption.
“The final figures will not be known until the season is finished,” he said. “For some farms, the season will finish by end of April, for the remaining farms, the season will finish by end of June. But some other farms are producing all year long.”
Agrico built an additional 120,000 sq m of “seasonal greenhouses” to grow more fresh vegetables during the winter season amid the blockade on Qatar, in addition to its 120,000 sq m facility, which operates year-round.
According to al-Khalaf, these seasonal greenhouses will stop operating during the summer but actual greenhouses (using 120,000 sq m of land) will continue to produce about five tonnes of fresh vegetables daily.
He added that Agrico and other local farms are producing more herbs now – such as coriander and parsley – to meet the growing demand in the country.
Fruit production will take more time since such requires more land, unlike vegetables.