Today the World Food Day is being marked around the globe. Hundreds of events and outreach activities will bring together governments, businesses, NGOs, the media, and general public to mark the day.
Under the theme “Grow, nourish, sustain. Together. Our actions are our future,” the 2021 World Food Day aims to raise awareness of the need to support the transition to more efficient, inclusive, sustainable, and resilient agricultural and food systems for better production, nutrition, environment, and life.
Qatar through a number of innovative agricultural initiatives and enhancing supply chain network and storage capabilities has succeeded in ensuring food security for its population.
Minister of Municipality and Environment and Acting Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs H E Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Subaie has said that within the framework of achieving the desired goals in the field of food security, several strategic projects related to food security have been implemented to reduce the gap between supply and demand in the local market of various high-quality agricultural products.
He further stressed that Qatar is looking forward to continuing technical and economic cooperation with the international community to reach the common goals in supporting the transition to more efficient, comprehensive, sustainable, and resilient agricultural and food systems to meet the food needs of all kinds.
He pointed out that an appropriate and sufficient strategic stock of basic food commodities has been formed in the country, in cooperation with partners from the private sector, as well as work on developing internal and external food supply chains, and preparing and building facilities for food security warehouses in Hamad Port on an area of more 500,000 square metres for storing food commodities.
It is pertinent to mention here that National Food Security Strategy of Qatar (2018-2023) aims to achieve an abundance of food through local production, strategic storage, and securing import sources and that food prices are appropriate and accessible to all.
The National Food Security Strategy in Qatar (2018-2023) is based on five main pillars: international trade and logistics, local self-sufficiency, strategic stocks, local markets and supply chains, and research and development.
In 2020-2021, the agricultural sector, in its various vegetable, animal, and fish fields, has achieved clear steps towards achieving food security, increasing agricultural production and the self-sufficiency rate of agricultural products, as the local production of vegetables jumped from about 66,000 tonnes, a 24 percent self-sufficiency rate in 2018 to about 103,000 tons, a 41 percent self-sufficiency rate.
