Pic: Syed Omar / The Peninsula
Doha: The Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME) has revealed its projects to increase food production including fish, vegetables, red meat, eggs and shrimps aimed at reaching a level of sufficiency by 2023.
The Strategic Food Security Projects 2019-2023 were disclosed by the MME officials at Qatar International Agricultural Exhibition (AgriteQ) at Doha Exhibition and Convention Center (DECC).
The projects will help increase the production of fish from the current 74 percent to 90 percent and vegetables from 24 percent to 70 percent by 2023.
The production of red meat will go up from the current 18 percent to 30 percent and eggs will increase from 28 percent to 70 percent. Qatar will become self-sufficient in shrimp production by 2023 and green fodder production will increase from 56 percent to 63 percent.
“The local production of vegetables in Qatar reached 66,000 tonnes in a year accounting 24 percent of total demand in the local market,” Masoud Jarullah Al Marri, Executive Secretary of the Committee for Monitoring the Implementation of Food Security Policies in the Public and Private Sector of Qatar at the MME, told The Peninsula.
He said that the new agricultural projects will help increase self-sufficiency in vegetable production to 70 percent by 2023. “The Ministry planned to launch a total of 34 agricultural projects in the coming years to increase the production of vegetables in the country,” said Al Marri adding that the existing farms are being supported to boost production.
Speaking on poultry products, Al Marri said that Qatar’s self-sufficiency in fresh chicken reached 124 percent. However, he said that frozen chicken are being imported.
He said that the local production of fresh milk achieved 106 percent self-sufficiency. “Qatar is producing 280 tonnes eggs in a year. Four new projects will help increase the production of eggs to 70 percent by 2023,” said Al Marri.
He added that each of first two projects will add 20 million eggs in a year and other each two projects will be launched with the capacity of 30 million eggs annually.
“Qatar produces 15,000 tonnes of fish in a year which is 74 percent of total consumption of the country,” said Al Marri adding that all three projects of fish farming on floating cages will help increase the self-sufficiency rate to 90 percent.
Regarding fodder, Al Marri said that the Ministry planned to launch 10 projects for producing green fodder which will help increase the self-sufficiency 63 percent.
