Qatar, represented by the Ministry of Municipality and the Environment (MME), celebrated World Food Day on Tuesday.
On the occasion, the ministry held a number of events in co-operation with the relevant departments of the ministry and other authorities and local farms in the state. The ministry organised activities for students of different age groups with the aim of spreading awareness about the importance of the efforts to combat hunger.On the occasion, HE the Minister of Municipality and Environment, Mohamed bin Abdullah al-Rumaihi said in his speech on Monday that Qatar's celebration of World Food Day is an affirmation of the necessity of providing food to every individual in line with the interest of the country’s leadership in developing resources and wealth especially in agriculture. He said Qatar is working towards achieving self-sufficiency in many of these commodities and products, pointing out that the country has harnessed all its energies to work towards building food security.In this context, the agricultural sector in Qatar, under the directives of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, is of great importance as the sector is entrusted with achieving food security, and as one of the most important priorities of the State in the short, medium and long term.This sector has made remarkable achievements on the path of sustainable development and self-sufficiency, especially after the allocation of QR70mn in annual support over the next five years to stimulate agricultural, livestock and fish production and marketing them in line with the agricultural strategy, which focuses on the expansion of agricultural products such as vegetables, dates, red meat, poultry, eggs, fish, milk and green fodder, taking into consideration the preservation of natural resources in the country and work to make good use of them.
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In line with the National Vision 2030, and the plans and projects of the Food Security Programme, the Ministry of Municipality and Environment is responsible for food security and natural resource development to increase production and reduce the gap between production and consumption and to increase self-sufficiency in vegetables, fish, and preserving and sustaining the national environment and sustaining it for future generations. The agricultural strategy of Qatar focuses on increasing the production of agricultural items, such as vegetables, red meat, poultry, eggs and fish, taking into account the optimal utilisation of natural resources. Ambitious steps were taken by the Qatari agricultural sector to meet the requirements of the local market and raising the self-sufficiency in the plant, animal and fish sectors. The most recent statistics show the significant development in agricultural production. The self-sufficiency in local vegetables was 24%, dates about 87%, and green fodder about 50%. In 2018, the total area of protected greenhouses increased from 49 hectares in 2007 to 73 hectares in 2018. Thus, the quantities of vegetables produced increased from 4,814 tonnes last year to 6,500 tonnes this year. The area of unregulated greenhouses increased from 200 hectares in 2017 to 220 this year, leading to an increase in production from 17,000 to 20,000 tonnes, while the production of vegetables in open land increased from 33,000 tonnes in 2017 to 36,000 tonnes in 2018. According to the latest statistics, this year's dairy products reached more than 500 tonnes per day, covering 83% of domestic consumption, compared to 154 tonnes a day in 2017, with a self-sufficiency rate of 24%. For fresh poultry, production before the blockade reached 30 tonnes per day with a self-sufficiency of 50%, while currently it has reached more than 59 tonnes, covering 98% of the domestic consumption. For fish production, the current self-sufficiency rate is 80%, and is expected to reach 90% within two years, with plans to increase production as well as aquaculture projects, including floating cages projects. Assistant Undersecretary for Agriculture and Fisheries Affairs at the Ministry of Municipalities and Environment, Sheikh Dr Faleh bin Nasser al-Thani, told QNA that there are ambitious plans to increase production in these agricultural sectors and food commodities, thus increasing self-sufficiency within the strategy of the agricultural sector in the Ministry. The Ministry is also keen to establish and organise local agricultural events and participate in regional and international ones, including Qatar International Agricultural Exhibition, the sixth edition of which was held last March.