The Qatar Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME) has taken steps to increase the rate of self-sufficiency in vegetable production. This currently stands at 24%, to 70%.  By presenting 10 projects for private investors to grow vegetables in greenhouses and produce about 21,000 tonnes annually through these projects, the nation would be closer to self-sufficiency.

Assistant Undersecretary for Agriculture and Fisheries Affairs at the MME, Sheikh Dr Faleh bin Nasser al-Thani, also said the ministry will study 24 new strategic projects for the production of vegetables in greenhouses over an area of 100,000sq m per project to take the production capacity to more than 50,000 tonnes a year.

He made the observations while speaking to the official Qatar News Agency (QNA) on the sidelines of the opening of the seventh Qatar International Agricultural Exhibition (AgriteQ) and first environmental exhibition at Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre yesterday.

Stressing that agriculture is considered one of the most important sectors concerned with achieving food security in Qatar, he said the MME is also working to support date farms in order to enhance the self-sufficiency rate from 86% to around 90% this year.