Legislation sought to boost Qatar’s agri sector

Right legislation plays a key role in boosting Qatar’s agricultural sector – a move that will encourage more people to invest, in addition to further increasing the country’s food production, a prominent agriculturist has said.Speaking on the sidelines of the ninth Qatar International Agricultural Exhibition (AgriteQ) and the third Qatar International Environmental Exhibition (EnviroteQ), Agrico managing director Nasser Ahmed al-Khalaf underscored the importance of enacting laws that would advance the country’s agricultural industry.Apart from protecting investments, he said right legislation would significantly help enhance the agricultural (vegetable in particular) production in the country.Enacting the right laws, he stressed, also ensures the protection of local produce against imports, preventing some local farms from shutting down. Such a move, al-Khalaf noted, will lead to more developments of local farms – from infrastructure and road connectivity, telecommunication, and sewage management systems, among others.“In comparison and to be equal to the industrial sector, you take the licence first, the government provides you land, electricity, sewage (systems), telecommunication, that’s how it becomes interesting for the investor… money is not the most important part,” he said.Al-Khalaf also highlighted the importance of close cooperation between public and private sectors – not deciding alone by themselves – in addressing issues and challenges in the agricultural industry.He said that listening to each other and taking decisions together would generate right solutions.About modern technology in the sector, al-Khalaf pointed out that it “is a necessity and the key to increase production, reducing the cost of production, and to be more competitive in terms of quality.”“We focused a lot on the hydroponics system but for the past few years I don’t think there is much more to develop in this system, we are satisfied with the results and there is no need to develop more.“We developed the aquaponics system and for the past five years we’ve been studying indoor farming… we are developing at the moment (under construction) around 1,500sqm for indoor farming, for the lettuce, and we are opening the shrimp farm production as well. “We have under construction fish farm production and we have the egg farm production. So we look for different items with different technologies to increase our basket and to increase production,” al-Khalaf said. “We produce all around the year, of course, the winter is easier but summer we continue to produce but it is a little more difficult. We have no seasons, so our production is not stopped.”He expressed confidence that Qatar is ready to export such agricultural technology, saying that they have advanced negotiations with Oman and Kuwait, in addition to other countries with hot climate. “They are interested in our technology”. AgriteQ and EnviroteQ exhibitions, which kicked off on March 10 and will conclude on March 14 at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre, showcase cutting-edge farming technologies and present the best innovations in the field of sustainable development.