New initiative to boost fruit and vegetable production

DOHA: In yet another effort to make Qatar self-sufficient in fruit and vegetable production, Weill Cornell Medicine – Qatar launched yesterday a new initiative as a part of its flagship health campaign- ‘Sahtak Awalan’ - Your Health First.

‘Khayr Qatarna’ a green house initiative, which involves school children, was launched in the presence of the Minister of Education and Higher Education H E Dr Mohammed bin Abdul Wahed Al Hammadi and several other dignitaries at the Qatar National Convention Center.  Initially, the initiative is expected to produce more than five tonnes of vegetables. The produce will be sold through local supermarkets under the brand name ‘Khayr Qatarna.’

Project Greenhouse is part of Sahtak Awalan campaign and has provided greenhouses, soil plant pots and fruit and vegetable seeds to 130 schools across Qatar since its launch. This has provided children with critical knowledge about the environment, sustainability, where their food comes from and most importantly the benefits of healthy eating. 

Project Greenhouse is now moving to the next level and is installing large-scale, state-of-the-art, climate-controlled greenhouses at certain schools. These greenhouses will be used to grow fruits and vegetables under the technical and specialist supervision of the Ministry of Municipality and Environment. 

The Ministry will also monitor the distribution of the produce, which will be sold through local supermarkets under the brand name ‘Khayr Qatarna.’ Students will continue to be involved with the greenhouses, learning more about food production and economics. 

“Project Greenhouse represents an inspiring initiative to raise awareness of healthy lifestyles. It has transformed school into productive units that enjoy learning both theoretical and applied knowledge, and has promoted the culture of healthy nutrition among students by producing their own and healthy food,” said Al Hammadi. 

Omran Hamad Al Kuwari, Acting CEO of QF; Dr  Javaid Sheikh, Dean of WCM-Q; Andrew H Kershaw, President and General Manager of Occidental Petroleum of Qatar; Dominic Genetti, Vice President and Joint Venture Manager ExxonMobil Qatar; Dr Falah bin Naser Al Thani, Undersecretary Assistant for Agriculture Affairs & Fisheries Resources at the Ministry of Municipality and Environment were also present at the launching ceremony. 

Dr Sheikh  said: “In the new phase we have begun by installing three large, climate controlled greenhouses equipped with state-of-art irrigation systems in public schools. This will quickly expand to 10 greenhouses, giving us the ability to grow fresh, home-grown, healthy produce than ever before, which we will bring to the local market under the new  ‘Khayr Qatarna’ brand”.

“From the initial green houses, we will be able to produce five to six tonnes of cucumbers and 1.25 tonnes of tomatoes per six month growing season, plus large crops of a wide variety of other vegetables like broccoli, green beans, zucchini, aubergines and more. This will not only help students to learn about agricultural science, logistics and marketing, but will also contribute to efforts to bring food security to Qatar, helping the country to become more independent, stronger and self sufficient,” he added. 

The event also showcased the development of Project Greenhouse as well as of its produce  including tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, capsicum and zucchini.