Water saving greenhouse pilot project launched at Sheehaniya

Qatar's first water saving greenhouse pilot project was officially launched Tuesday at Hassad's farm in Al Sheehaniya, in a ceremony attended by Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, Torbjorn Roe Isaksen, Norway's Minister of Trade and Industry, the chief executive officers of Hassad and technology partner Yara along with other Norwegian and Qatari officials.

The greenhouse was engineered by Yara International ASA (Norway) and developed in collaboration with Hassad Food, Qatar Fertiliser Company (Qafco), Wageningen University and executed in partnership with Trane Qatar, Jiffy, Hoogendoorn and MST Holland.Hassad Chief Executive Officer Mohamed Badr al-Sadah said: "It is our pleasure to be part of this partnership, and to jointly conduct this pilot project in one of our greenhouses at Al Sheehaniya, as we are committed to support the local agricultural sector."Explaining the idea behind the project, he said: "When we implement an innovative water saving system and apply the tailored fertiliser recipes in the pilot greenhouse, we will be able to increase production by 20 times the average in Qatar and reduce the water consumption by 90%, which will certainly contribute to local agricultural development."Qafco Chief Executive Officer Abdulrahman al-Suwaidi added: "Qafco is proud to support such initiatives in line with Qatartarget="_blank"'>