A considerable number of Qatari vegetable farms are keen to diversify into projects to produce meat, bee, poultry, eggs, dates and other agriculture and animal products.
Speaking to local Arabic daily Arrayah, a number of local farm owners pointed out that such diversity in production help them improve their profits while boosting the national food security.
They were of the view that under a long term investment strategy, farms should always be keen on diversifying their income. The various marketing initiatives launched by the entities concerned in the country, such as the honey festival, the local dates festival, yards for selling local agriculture products, and to buy the locally produced sheep have encouraged local farms.
Dr Rashid al-Kuwari said there are now a number of local farms in Qatar that exert good efforts to diversify their products. Besides vegetables, they produce meat, honey, poultry and eggs, and other products. He noted that the prices of vegetables often fluctuate, so the other products will certainly help sustain the continuous operations of these farms.
Abdulla al-Kuwari said that the diversification of farm production has been a new trend among farm owners to help them remain active in business and cover their production costs against the potential fluctuation of retail prices. He said that besides producing vegetables, his farm keep birds, sheep and honey bee. Even though these are in small numbers, they help in maintaining the cost of operation and contribute to the local food security.
Yousef al-Tahir stressed that every farm should maintain diversity of production as much as its space permits. He said that consumers often have special preferences for the locally produced poultry, and many visit his farm in particular for buying them. He also stressed the importance of such local agriculture and livestock production even in small quantities.
Rashid al-Azba said his farm has a considerably high number of date palms and produce honey in addition to its normal production of vegetables. He noted that this has been a good experience and his farm will continue the production diversifying efforts.
