Indoor farming, on one million SqM of land, set to boost Qatar’s agri sector by 2020

Ever since the start of the blockade of Qatar last June, Qatar has made food security its top priority.
While public and private sectors have come up with plans to attain self-sufficiency in milk and other products, agricultural production has also continued to rise.
Agricultural production in the country is set to take a huge leap forward with plans to develop around one million SqM of land for indoor farming, prominent Qatari agriculturist Nasser Ahmed Al Khalaf told Gulf Times.
“We’re now developing other farms and we’ve some other indoor projects under study, which can eventually reach 1million SqM in total,” said Al Khalaf, who is the owner and managing director of Agrico.
A private Qatari agricultural development company, Agrico was established in 2011 with the aim of helping the country achieve food security. Agrico operates a 12 hectare organic farm in Al Khor. 
Al Khalaf said the new indoor projects will involve more than four local farms, and could operate by the end of 2019 or early 2020.
“Currently, we’re putting together a feasibility study and drawings,” he said, adding that such initiative can significantly increase the country’s fresh produce and help efforts for self-sufficiency.
Al Khalaf said Agrico invested in research and development, trying to develop indoor farming in the past two and a half years to produce fresh vegetables all year long in Qatar.
“We’ve modified technology developed in the Western World, and adapted it even further to have a very unique system anywhere in the world,” he said.
He said there was a significant increase in the production of fresh vegetables this winter, covering more than 20% of the country’s total consumption.
Agrico built an additional 120,000sqm of “seasonal greenhouses” to grow more fresh vegetables during the winter season amid the blockade on Qatar, in addition to its 120,000sqm facility, which operates year-round.