Under the patronage of HE Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani, HE the Minister of Municipality and Environment Mohamed bin Abdullah al-Rumaihi honoured on Thursday the owners of farms, livestock breeders, fish farmers, fishermen and agricultural companies in recognition of their role in achieving major breakthroughs in production during the past period.
Delivering a speech on the occasion, HE al-Rumaihi stressed that Qatar is strongly committed to developing the agricultural sector for achieving food security in the country. He noted that His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani's directives were to magnify the role of Qatari farms and agricultural companies to contribute to increasing domestic production and reduce imports to enhance food security, especially under conditions of the unjust blockade imposed on the state.
HE al-Rumaihi also noted that the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior has keenly monitored the constraints and difficulties faced in increasing Qatari agricultural production, and issued directives to overcome these constraints.
The Minister of Municipality and Environment said that during the period following the blockade, the Qatari agricultural sector witnessed a major development due to the active support of all sectors of the State, and Qatari agricultural producers contributed to a major breakthrough in the field of agricultural production, and all the issues and constraints faced by them under the unjust blockade were overcome.
HE al-Rumaihi explained that efforts to address these obstacles have caused major breakthroughs in agricultural production in the country, where the production of local vegetables increased from about 50,000tonnes during the year before the blockade to about 65,000tonnes after the blockade, an increase of 30%, and that Qatar has achieved full self-sufficiency of dairy and fresh poultry.
In this context, the minister pointed out that the production of dairy and its products increased from 60,000 tonnes a year before the blockade, to about 220,000 tonnes this year, an increase of more than 265%.
Fresh poultry production increased from 10,000 tonnes per year to about 22,000 tonnes per year, an increase of 120%, and the production of eggs increased from 4,000 tonnes before the blockade to about 10,000 tonnes, an increase of more than 150%.
The minister said that a fiscal budget of QR105mn has been allocated to provide support to agricultural producers in the country, under the State's direction to support agricultural producers, as these funds have been channelled to support both farmers, livestock breeders and fishermen.
He added that the registered farms in the country will be provided protected houses and agricultural production requirements, which include seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and containers for vegetables and dates, and the distribution of honeybee cells on registered farms, while the livestock breeders will be supported by concentrated animal feeds, supporting animal production requirements such as wool mowers, goats, etc., and vaccine support for municipal birds.
With regard to support for fishermen, the minister explained that they would be provided by refrigerators for the conservation of fish and ice, stressing that the ministry is currently preparing the necessary disclosures to distribute support to agricultural producers and all beneficiaries in the next few years.
HE al-Rumaihi said that a company specialising in agricultural marketing has been established, which will receive produce from farmers and carry out the necessary marketing operations until it reaches the consumer with high quality, and predicted that the company would contribute effectively to raise the marketing efficiency of Qatari agricultural products and increase the profit of Qatari farms.
On the occasion, the Minister of Municipality and Environment, and Assistant Undersecretary of Agriculture and Fisheries Affairs, HE Sheikh Dr Faleh bin Nasser al-Thani, delivered certificates of appreciation to the distinguished owners of farms, breeders of livestock, fish, fishermen and agricultural companies.
