New farmer’s market to open in Al Shamal from next season

The Agricultural Affairs Department at The Ministry of Municipality and Environment is gearing up to open a new winter market in Al Shamal from next season, an official from the Ministry said.

The new market will add to the current markets selling agricultural products which are spread in three locations across the country namely Al Mazroua, Al Khor and Dakhira and Al Wakra.

Yusuf Khalid Al Khulaifi, Director of Agricultural Affairs Department at the Ministry of Municipality and Environment told The Peninsula: “There’s a coordination with some municipalities to open new yards. There’re plans to open two markets and as of now we’ve decided to open one in Al Shamal.”

“This year, we’ve extended the season to seven months, instead of six, and the result was excellent which means it has succeeded, and all the vegetable quantities were locally produced,” added Al Khulaifi.

“The aim of the early opening (November, 2015 to until now) was to encourage local farmers to produce early, and we succeeded. The markets also provides an opportunity for farmers to sell their products directly to the customers without intervention from middlemen.”

The winter vegetable farmers’ markets 2015-2016 season saw growth in sales. The Al Mazroua yard sold 1,779.3 tonnes of vegetables, while Al Khor and Dakhira yard sold 1156.7 tonnes, and Al Wakra yard achieved sale of 1,140.1 tonnes.

In the previous season, Al Mazroua yard sold only 1421 tonnes of vegetables while Al Khor and Dakhira yard sold 1,078.1 tonnes, and Al Wakra yard sold 1,118.5 tonnes of vegetables, Al Khulaifi said.

As in this season, the next winter vegetable season (2016-2017) is expected to start in November or may be earlier.

The markets are open during Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 7am to 5pm. They offer a wide variety of vegetables and poultry products from Qatari farms at attractive prices.

Some 77 local farms participated this time including 33 in Al Mazroua, 22 in Al Khor and Al Dakhira and 22 in Al Wakra. 

Courtesy: thepeninsulaqatar.com