Qatar's efforts to be self-sufficient in the food sector on Sunday got a shot in the arm with Hassad Food, a subsidiary of the country's sovereign wealth fund, extending its financial and technical support to the newly established "Anaam, or the Qatar Livestock Society" as part of efforts to bridge the gap between the local production and demand.

Founded in 2018 by a ministerial decision, “Anaam” is a cultural association, under the Associations and Private Institutions Department at the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labor and Social Affairs. It is dedicated to support the livestock owners and the wider livestock sector in Qatar.

"Supporting the country in achieving food security is always at the forefront of Hassad’s strategic objectives...We are keen to support the productive livestock owners, and we believe in the important role the association will play locally,” Hassad Food chief executive Mohamed bin Badr al-Sadah told reporters here.

Given that the country has more than a million livestock and 17,000 farmers, Anaam, which will be the interface between the farmers and the government, seeks to study the market needs and assess the challenges as well as find effective solutions in co-ordination with the entities and institutions and conduct workshops, and provide consultation to the livestock owners, in order to raise the production efficiency across the livestock sector.

Apart from building a unified database for all local livestock owners to facilitate the communications among them, the society’s core duties also include encouraging and supporting new and innovative initiatives, which contribute to achieving food security, as well as spreading awareness across livestock owners on the importance of the environment in line with the Qatar’s National Vision 2030.

"We aim to support in raising the production efficiency of the livestock sector, by entering into joint programmes with both the Halal owners and a number of institutions, to contribute in achieving food security," according to Hamad Faleh al-Shahwani, chairman of Anaam.

Mubarak Rashid al-Sahuti, executive director (Business Relations), Hassad, said it is important to support this society and the food security in the country.

Hassad will extend financial and technical support to Anaam, whose objective is to support the farmers by imparting training to improve efficiency and thus enhance production and the contribution of the sector to the domestic economy.

"We still have a big gap between the local production and consumption," he said.

Mohamed Yaaqob al-Kaabi, Anaam board member, said many farmers have not monetised their livestock and so there is a dire need to engage in modern methods so to bring down costs as well as create awareness among them on reaping commercial success from the sector.