The Qatar government through different initiatives launched in recent years is not only assisting and promoting local vegetable farms and farmers but also ensuring Qatar’s successful journey towards achieving self-sufficiency in food.
With the drop in mercury, winter vegetable markets are back to serve the people who want to buy locally-grown fresh vegetables and that too at economical price. The winter vegetable market, at the one hand, is a great relief for customers and on the other provides an ideal platform for farmers to sell their fresh produce to make their business sustainable.
The winter vegetable markets sold over 70 tonnes of different varieties of locally-grown vegetables on the first day of their reopening on Thursday. “This is the ninth season of the winter vegetable markets. The markets attracted a lot of customers on the first day. The farmers offered a good quantity of vegetables since we are at the start of the season,” said Adil Al Kaldi Al Yafai, Assistant Head of Agricultural Affairs Department at the Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME).
With 150 local farms offering fresh vegetables at competitive prices, all five winter vegetable markets have reopened for the 2020-21 season. The winter vegetable markets are operating in Al Sheehaniya, Al Mazrouha, Al Wakrah, Al Khor Al Zakhira and Al Shamal.
The Ministry also ensures the quality of the produce at the markets which has helped in attracting a large number of customers. The Agricultural Affairs Department of the Ministry had readied the markets enabling local farmers to offer their produce while adhering to the prescribed preventive and precautionary measures to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Owing to timely-taken decisions by the government of Qatar regarding achieving self-sufficiency in food, Qatar is set to be among top 10 countries in Global Food Security Index by 2021, driven by the Strategic Food Security Project 2019-2023, as recently stated by a senior official of the Ministry of Municipality and Environment.
Qatar had ranked 29th in the index in 2017 when the blockade was imposed. With the help of food security programme, Qatar jumped to 22nd position in 2018 and in 2019 it made another major achievement securing 13th position.
Qatar had exceeded the target in achieving self-sufficiency in various fresh food products, including vegetables, meat and fish in 2019. Qatar’s National Strategy for Food Security has also played important role in boosting self-sufficiency in food products.
