New research strategy announced to increase livestock, agriculture output

The Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME) announced the adoption of a new agriculture research strategy to raise Qatar’s livestock and agriculture production. The ultimate goal of the strategy is to increase the country’s food security and self-sufficiency, especially in light of the illegal blockade.

According to Gulf Times, Local Arabic daily Arrayah reported yesterday that the Agriculture Research Department director Massoud Jarallah al-Marri stressed the MME’s efforts on a number of research plans and projects to combat the challenges of the development of Qatar’s agriculture sector, especially with regards to the dearth of water resources, limited cultivable land and the small scale of livestock production. 

The projects in the strategy include the preservation of the genetic resources, raising animal fodder production with a view to various alternatives, tissue culture, and bio-resistance of plants. The animal production station at Al Sheehaniyah is one of the major projects, which was received by the department last year, Gulf Times reported.

According to Qatar Day, the station facility spans an area of 80,000 square metres, and is made to improve camel and goat breeds through the use of sophisticated technology. 

Al Sheehaniyah is also a research facility for improving the qualities of certain kinds of animal fodder.

MME has also launched a project to study the use of saline soil and saline water in producing agriculture crops and reducing the deterioration of soil quality. The initiative is implemented jointly with the Qatar Shell Research and Technology Centre. Land reclamation and soil maintenance are the primary aims of the project.

MME is also working on a project to develop and devise a number of sophisticated irrigation systems aimed at reducing the use of irrigation water.

According to Gulf Times, the preliminary results of the related experiments showed the consumption of irrigation water could be reduced by 68% compared to the conventional methods.

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