(MENAFN- The Peninsula) sanaullah ataullah |
The Peninsula
Doha: Qatar's new Food Security Strategy will focus on innovative solutions and sustainable systems to boost the agricultural sector ensuring food security in the country.
“Now we are on the threshold of a new phase in preparing the food security strategy 2024-2030,” said Minister of Municipality H E Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Subaie during his participation in 43rd Session of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) conference in Italy.
He said that the most prominent features of the new food security strategy are the reliance on innovative solutions in agriculture and the adoption of sustainable systems.
“There will be an improvement in market mechanisms and competitiveness of local products. There will be many projects and initiatives in the field of food security in line with the development goals of the Qatar and Qatar National Vision 2030.” said the Minister.
The video of the Minister of Municipality was shared by the Government Communication Office (GCO) on its Twitter handle. The conference will run until July 7 in Rome, under the title“Better Production, Better Nutrition, Better Environment and Better Life.”
The Minister of Municipality said that food security is a national priority for Qatar and is a testament to the great efforts made by the State in this field over the past few years.
He added that this culminated in a strengthened position of Qatar on the global Food Security Index and occupies an advanced position in the Middle East and globally.
“The election of Qatar as Vice-President of the 43rd Session of FAO Conference is an indication of the international status held by the State, the confidence given by the member states and also the effective partnership that Qatar undertakes in the Organisation,” said the Minster.
He said that the election comes as an acknowledgement of the pioneering achievements of Qatar in food security issues.
“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 and developing agricultural practices as well as adopting modern methods of agriculture,” said the Minister.
Speaking at the same conference, the Director of Food Security Department at the Ministry of Municipality Dr Masoud Jarallah Al Marri highlighted Qatar's strategic approach towards achieving food security and the anticipated role of the International Horticultural Exhibition (Expo 2023 Doha) in addressing key agricultural challenges.
“Qatar has adopted a national strategy for food security which relies on the data available in Qatar,” said Al Marri in a video shared by the Ministry of Municipality on its Twitter handle.
He said that all these programmes and projects aim to achieve food security in a way to provide food of a high quality at reasonable prices with a suitable and adaptable system addressing climate change.
“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.
In addition, he said, the agricultural sector should be able to generate both economic and strategic gains as it is doing now.
“The major challenges in the agriculture development and food security are issues of water shortage, terrains and soil types,” said Al Marri.
Therefore, he said, it is expected that many technologies will be presented at Expo 2023 Doha to find solutions to the problems of water and other agricultural issues.
“We expect the Expo to bring a lot of technologies to Qatar and hold many events hosting experts to discuss the challenges in the agriculture sector which is a key element in agricultural development and food security,” said Al Marri.