The Ministry of Municipality and Environment’s various initiatives have benefitted farmers to get more money by selling their produce directly to the customers.
The farmers are now able to sell over 50 percent of their vegetables directly to the customers after the Ministry opened ‘farmers' market’. Farmers are able to get upto QR4 per box more by directly selling vegetables through these markets. Earlier farmers were selling their produce through auction at central market.
Many major shopping complexes have signed contract with the Ministry to take very marginal profit on sale of local vegetables as part of the initiative to support the farmers.
Separate shelves are set up at shopping complexes to showcase premium quality of vegetables which has helped farmers to get good profits.
To promote local produce, the Ministry of Municipality and Environment has taken several initiatives. Three farmers' markets located at Al Mazrouah, near Umm Salal, Al Khor-Dhakhira and Al Wakrah are currently open for farmers to sell their products directly to the customers without any middlemen or brokers.
The Mahasel festival in Katara is also featuring fresh produce from local farms.
“We have started supplying vegetables to City Center on a daily basis,” Mohamad Iqbal, a salesman at an outlet in Al Mazrouah, told The Peninsula.
“We showcase our produce in Katara, Al Mazrouah and Al Khor during three days from Thursday to Saturday to sell directly to the consumers. We have now engaged four trucks to supply our products to these markets,”
“The peak season is going on in Qatar and our production has hit about 1,600 boxes in a day. Less than 800 boxes of vegetables go to the auction at Doha Central Market. Our direct sale increases significantly during weekend, when farmers' market opens. We sell about 2,100 boxes vegetables at three direct farmers markets -- Katara, Al Mazrouah and Al Khor. Our maximum direct sale happens at Al Mazrouah ,” said Iqbal. "We get extra QR4 to QR5 per boxe in direct sale compared to those in auction," he added.
“We are in peak season now and our production of vegetables reached about 1,500 boxes per day. We are also supplying to major outlets like Lulu, said Shairbaz, an employee of a farm in Umm Qarn. We see the differences in the prices upto QR4 per box”, Shairbaz.
Another farmer, Mohamad Nazim, added, “We produce about 1,000 boxes in a day. We harvest more at weekend to sell directly to the customers at farmer’s markets, said Mohamad Nazim, representative of a farm in Jimailiya.
Al Mazrouah attracted huge customers of vegetables because of low prices. “My employer called me in the morning when he received the daily price list of the vegetables released by the |Ministry. He compared the vegetables’ prices of Al Mazrouah with those sold in auction and he asked me give a discount QR2 to QR3 per boxes compared prices stated in the list.
