The GCC meeting on date palm production systems at Sharq Village and Spa yesterday. Pic Baher Amin/ The Peninsula
The technical and steering committee for the development of sustainable date palm production systems in GCC countries began its 11th meeting yesterday at Sharq Village and Spa.
The three-day meeting aims to support policies and national programmes to develop the production of palm trees, which are an important element of the historical and cultural identity of GCC countries, said Masoud Jarallah Al Marri, Agricultural Research Department Director at the Ministry of Municipality and Environment, in his opening speech.
Experts and representatives from Gulf Cooperation Council countries and the International Center for Agriculture Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) are attending the event.
“Qatar gives special priority to agriculture especially to palm trees. Recently the ministry organised the Fresh Local Dates Festival at Souq Waqif, which gave local farms chance to sell their produce directly to visitors, in addition to offering seedlings at a very low price,” Al Marri added. Dr Bandar El Odhiani, Counselor at the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries in GCC said that the date palms are a strategic crop for GCC countries where millions of palm trees are grown. He stressed GCC countries are working to develop palm research studies.
Dr Aziz Awlad Belqasem, regional coordinator for ICARDA projects in GCC, said that the agriculture sector in GCC faces big challenges among them water shortage, lack of rain, climate change, and plant and animal diseases.
