Qatar is strongly committed to ensuring food self sufficiency
Qatar is one of the richest nations in the world, yet recent events have shown that such financial security is not accompanied by national food security, as almost 90% of food in the country is imported.
The reasons for food insecurity have been decades in the making, and the most important is geographical. Qatar’s searing climate has rendered most of its area unsuitable for farming, so for those who try, primary costs like water have proved prohibitive. This has led to a lack of infrastructure, leading in turn to a lack of basic knowledge in agricultural activity, making it easier to simply import foreign foodstuffs.
The good news is that Qatar has the financial resources to invest and transform this situation in key areas. Qatar has taken action to implement ambitious strategies to produce enough food domestically for citizens and expats alike. The aim is to supply 40% of its food consumption domestically by 2030 through the Qatar National Food Security Programme (QNFSP).
Water
To begin with, the cost and availability of water for irrigation must be addressed. Desalination plants have been used in Qatar for decades, but are terrifically expensive to run, and barely sustainable environmentally. Studies have shown that one desalination plant in Qatar can use up to 300,000 barrels of crude oil every single day. The solution?: Solar-powered plants, capable of producing one litre of water for around 2 cents as compared with one dollar a litre via traditional plants.
Private sector
With water costs lowered, Qatar could foster future entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector through increased financing, subsidies, and reducing levels of bureaucracy by cutting red tape. Numerous private and public sector organizations should come together to positively encourage small and medium-sized “agro-preneur” enterprises. Access to education in international agricultural practice needs to be supported, especially how they can become established in local markets and become more viable than imports.
The CEO of Hassad Food Company, Mohamed Badr Al Sada, has made it clear that the private sector can be a major player in the drive to achieve food security. Hassad recently launched an initiative to encourage non-productive farms to produce more food, and redress the fact statistic that between 50-70 percent of farms in the country are non-productive. And it appears to be working, as a total of 150 farms have responded so far, which is 30 percent of the targeted group. Additionally, Al Sada said that the company will substantially increase its poultry production next summer.
Wisdom
It is clear that much has yet to be done before Qatar can be seen as achieving domestic food security, but with will and wisdom, anything is possible. However, education is vital to transform consumer attitudes towards food waste.
