Qatar to launch new national Food Security Strategy

Qatar to launch new national Food Security Strategy

Doha, The Gulf Observer: To build a more sustainable food security system, Qatar will launch its new Food Security Strategy in the first quarter (Q1) of 2024, said a top official.

“Qatar National Food Security Strategy 2024-30 will be for seven years in line with Qatar National Vision 2030,” said Director of the Food Security Department at the Ministry of Municipality Dr. Masoud Jarallah Al Marri.

Speaking to The Peninsula, Al Marri said that the new strategy which is being developed will be implemented during the first quarter of next year after approval from the authorities concerned.

Giving details about the new strategy, he said: “Maintaining the achievements made by the 2018-23 National Food Security Strategy, the new strategy will build a more sustainable food security system for the country in terms of increasing self-sufficiency rate in fresh food production, international trade and strategic reserve of food commodities.”

“Since we are 7 years away from the target year of 2030 and therefore, a new food security strategy was designed for the same period utilising the experiences obtained from the previous strategy which we must preserve and develop to ensure continuity and growth,” said Al Marri.

The new strategy will be based on a set of elements, including achieving sustainability, relying on modern technologies, and innovation in the agricultural sector.

It will help improve distribution mechanisms and expand sales outlets, disseminating them while maintaining prices, improving market mechanisms, and enhancing trade with other countries.

Qatar has achieved advanced ranks on the Global Good Security Index, and this reflects the efforts made by the country in terms of raising the levels of self-sufficiency efforts, increasing local production, developing agricultural practices and adopting modern methods of agriculture.

Qatar attached great importance to developing the economic sectors in the country, including the agriculture and food security sectors. It has implemented plans and programmes to achieve food security by increasing local production and raising self-sufficiency rates in goods and foodstuffs, following Qatar National Vision 2030.

Qatar has adopted a national strategy for food security which relies on the data available in Qatar. Many programmes and projects were implemented to achieve food security in a way to provide food of high quality at reasonable prices with a suitable and adaptable system addressing climate change.

The great achievements that have been made over the past few years, including the significant growth in cultivated areas, quantity and production, in addition to the initiatives launched by the state to support all sectors of food security, including, but not limited to the marketing programmes.

The Ministry of Municipality implemented the “Agricultural Census” project, the first of its kind in Qatar in 20 years, which gave a clear picture and provided great information and accurate statistics about the situation in the agricultural sector in the country, which contributed to making decisions and steps on scientific foundations, the results of which will be seen in the near future.