With the official launch of the country’s first pilot water-saving greenhouse on Monday at one of Hassad’s greenhouses in Al Shahaniya, Qatar has taken one more step forward in its stride to make the country self-sufficient in agricultural produce. Once the greenhouse is fully operational, it will be able to increase production by 20 times the average in Qatar and reduce water consumption by a whopping 90 percent.
The first-of-its kind facility in Qatar was engineered by Yara International ASA of Norway and developed in collaboration with Hassad Food, Qatar Fertiliser Company (Qafco), Wageningen University and is being executed in partnership with Trane Qatar, Jiffy, Hoogendoorn and MST Holland. The climate inside the unique greenhouse is provided by air conditioning system and completely independent of the outside weather. The closed cycle of air re-circulation allows recovery of water from evapotranspiration of the plants through dehumidification. The water recovered in the process will be re-used for irrigation of the plants.
The project not only aims at making the country self-sufficient in food products, but also targets really sustainable development in the agricultural sector. Water and energy conservation is one of the major aspects of Qatar National Vision 2030. As agriculture is a water-intensive activity, as an arid country Qatar has to be very cautious when it ventures into farming in bid to ensure enough food for its people.
Well-aware of this fact, Qatar has been very cautious in using water for irrigation, taking every step to save as much water as possible through the most advanced modes of rationalised water usage.
The Assistant Under-Secretary for Agriculture and Fisheries Affairs at the Ministry of Municipality and Environment, Sheikh Dr. Faleh bin Nasser Al Thani, said in the first week of October that production of local farms reached 10,000 tonnes per year, which was expected to reach an ambitious 90,000 tonnes by next year with the help of 10 modern farms equipped with greenhouse technologies. He added that the future plans for the agricultural sector were sustainable production and maintaining the quality of the product and its development, focused on products with less water consumption.
Qatar has already achieved self-sufficiency in dairy and poultry products and is planning to export surplus food products. The country can achieve self-sufficiency in vegetables and fish stock in the near future if it continues adopting the latest advancements in the sector.
Water conservation is of paramount importance, especially in a country like Qatar. When we realise that only 0.5 percent of water is available for drinking on this planet, and only three percent of water on Earth is fresh water and 90 percent of water is salt water, then we will be reminded of the need to conserve water.
