PHOTO
Qatar - A number of local farm owners have stressed that they are ready to take part in the Doha International Horticultural Expo 2023 (Expo 2023) and display the innovative technology they use to overcome the challenges of agriculture in the country.
Speaking to local Arabic daily Arrayah, they pointed out that Expo 2023 should be a good opportunity to introduce their efforts to attain sustainable development in farming and agriculture -- using both traditional and innovative methods -- in producing various types of vegetables and fruits in addition to type of ornamental or garden plants and trees utilised mostly in the streets of the country to withstand the local climate conditions.
The farm owners pointed out that Qatari farms were able to employ sophisticated technology to fight desertification and find practical solutions to achieve considerable production that participate towards local food self-sufficiency. These methods include normal greenhouses, cooled greenhouses, hydroponics, and open field agriculture.
Yousef Tahir said that as a producer he is very keen to take part in Expo 2023 to introduce the local achievements and experiences in the field to the participants and visitors from around the world and in the meantime benefit from similar successful experiences. He also highly appreciated the organizing committee of Expo 2023 to hold a farmers' market accompanying the event, stressing that many local farms have welcomed this initiative and consider it key to further enhance their expertise in the field.
Ali al-Hinzab said that Qatari farmers will be very happy to display their achievements in the agriculture sector through the platforms provided by Expo 2023. He added that in spite of the tough conditions of the local environment and the involved challenges, many farms have very successful experiences in producing food products, flowers, and ornamental plants in addition to some local trees at comparatively low cost and very good quality.
He expected that Expo 2023 to help stakeholders and those interested in the field get introduced to sophisticated solutions for the difficulties they encounter in tough agriculture environment such as desalination of seawater, organic fertilisers and other related issues.
Nasser al-Khalaf sees that many Qatari farms have made great successes throughout the past few years in enhancing food security in the country and produced considerable amounts of fruits and vegetables, which proves that Qatari farmers were able to overcome the big challenges of the local environment through innovation and the use of sophisticated technology.
In particular, his company will display its experience in overcoming the difficulties of arid environment and sustainable farming using less amounts of water and electricity in agriculture.
© Gulf Times Newspaper 2022 Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).