Qatar’s agricultural output tops 100000 tonnes in 2022 – The Peninsula

Qatar’s agricultural output tops 100000 tonnes in 2022 – The Peninsula

Doha: Qatar produced 100,000 tonnes of agricultural produce in 2022, increasing the self-sufficiency rate of the country in vegetables to 46 percent, an official has said.

“Local vegetables production witnessed an increase of over 100 percent last year compared to 2017, said Director of Agricultural Affairs Department at the Ministry of Municipality, Youssef Khalid Al Khulaifi.

Speaking to Qatar TV recently, he said ambition of the Ministry is to increase the local agricultural produce to a certain level of self-sufficiency.

“To do so, we have taken a number of measures such as expanding the agricultural season which is from November to May in Qatar because of the climate,” said Al Khulaifi.

He said that the season is being expanded by ensuring agricultural produce throughout the year with the support of greenhouses.

“Since the climate of Qatar is not much favourable to produce vegetables in farms during summer, we have provided suitable environment for growing vegetables through cold houses (shaded facilities with necessary equipment to serve as greenhouse),” said Al Khulaifi.

He said that the imported cold houses, which were used after making necessary modification to suite the local climate, have contributed greatly in increasing the agricultural output.

“The Agricultural Research Department made partnerships with a number of