The second National Food Security Strategy 2023–2030 is currently being developed by the Ministry of Municipality’s Food Security Department.
According to a recent statement from the Ministry of Municipality, “work is currently underway to monitor and evaluate the performance of the national strategy for food security during the last period for developing the second National Food Security Strategy 2023-2030, in line with the requirements of the next phase.”
The first National Food Security Strategy, which ran from 2018 to 2023, met all of its goals and significantly increased Qatar’s self-sufficiency in fresh foods, including vegetables, dairy, poultry, and meat products.
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The strategy also contributed greatly to Qatar securing first place in Arab countries and 24th place in a ranking of 113 countries in the Global Food Security Index (GFSI) 2021, issued by UK- based the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
The availability of foods in large quantity at reasonable prices during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, which witnessed influx of millions of fans from all over the world, also reflected the huge success of the National Food Security Strategy 2018-23.
“The Food Security Department played an active role during the mega sporting event through coordination and strategic integration between public and private institutions in the country,” said Director of the Food Security Department at the Ministry of Municipality, Dr. Masoud Jarallah Al Marri, in a statement.
He said the Department was a member of the Emergency Committee to ensure the import and flow of food supplies, which is chaired by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, along with its membership of a number of ministries and relevant authorities.
“We ensured the provision of food to citizens, residents and fans during the World Cup through local production or import from abroad,” said Al Marri.
He said the Department also adopted an emergency plan for importing food products from alternative sources through strategic suppliers in the country, and coordinated with local companies producing food and consumer goods to determine the plan of these companies for increasing production to match the expected rise in consumption demand during the mega sporting event.
Al Marri noted the department’s membership in the emergency food security operations control rooms for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, which was established to respond quickly to any shortage of food and consumer goods, and daily coordination with the participating parties to supply foods during the tournament to ensure adequate stocks.
The National Food Security Strategy seeks to achieve certain level of self-sufficiency in producing basic vegetables, focusing on optimal utilisation of natural resources of the country, especially the land and groundwater.
In this context, the Ministry of Municipality is keen to raise the productive efficiency of Qatari farms by working to adopt and disseminate modern agricultural technology that saves water and enhances productivity and suits Qatari environment technically and economically.
