The new agricultural research projects which show very progressive results will further boost the food security programme of Qatar. The country eyes self-sufficiency in fresh food production like vegetables, meat, fish, and dairy and poultry products.
To make Qatar self-sufficient in fresh food production, the Agricultural Research Department at the Ministry of Municipality is working on a number of research projects to find vegetables species resilient to the local climate and better in quality and quantity.
The first National Food Security Strategy 2018-23 succeeded in meeting its targets, remarkably increasing Qatar’s self-sufficiency rate in fresh food including vegetables, dairy and poultry products, and meat and fish.
The strategy also contributed greatly to Qatar securing first place in Arab countries and 24th place in a ranking of 113 countries in the Global Food Security Index (GFSI) 2021, issued by UK- based the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
Qatar attached great importance to developing agriculture and food security sectors. It has implemented plans and programmes to achieve food security by increasing local production and raising self-sufficiency rates in goods and foodstuffs, following Qatar National Vision 2030.
Qatar has adopted a national strategy for food security which relies on the data available in Qatar. Many programmes and projects were implemented to achieve food security in a way to provide food of high quality at reasonable prices with a suitable and adaptable system addressing climate change.
The great achievements that have been made over the past few years, including the significant growth in cultivated areas, quantity and production, in addition to the initiatives launched by the state to support all sectors of food security, including, but not limited to the marketing programmes.
The new research projects showed very progressive results. In the early stages of a project, many plants showed very high productivity. For example, the number of fruits on sweet corn plants exceeded 4 fruits in some plants, as well as beans and tomatoes, said the Ministry of Municipality in a report issued yesterday.
One of the success stories in another project is the development of new varieties of sweet corn, tomatoes and beans resilient to the local climate.
Work on this project began in 2019, and currently the new varieties have reached the fifth generation.
During the next two years, these varieties will be tested by farmers, and the varieties that prove their worth and adapt to local climate conditions will be approved.
The Agricultural Research Department, has adopted a number of advanced research projects to provide agricultural inputs locally, including seeds, through the peaceful use of nuclear and biotechnology techniques.
