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Victor Bolorunduro
Doha
The unjust blockade imposed on Qatar by Saudi and its allies has come as a boon for local farmers as they have stepped up their production manifold to offset the impact of the crisis, Fathalla Mohmoud, General Manager of Jerry Smeih Farms, one of the oldest farms in Qatar, has said.
"We are witnessing a major boost in the agricultural sector and all efforts are being made to increase the production to achieve food security," he added.
Spread over 209 hectares of land, the farm was started in 1931 and turned commercial in 2012.
Mohmoud said the government is offering several incentives to support people who want to join the agri sector.
"For example, up to 60 percent of wheat bran for sheep feed is subsidised by the government and this is just one of the many incentives of the government," he said.
"More people are now coming into the industry and more farms are springing up in the country which is a very good development. The government continues to give massive support to the sector and the dream of a 100 percent food production will be realised sooner than expected," he said.
Speaking about the farm, Mohmoud said,"Jerry Smeih is the only duck farm in the entire GCC with a production capacity of an excess of 6,000 ducks per month. We not only supply to the local market but also export to other countries in the region."
"We have adopted the latest technology in packaging system, the Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP), which has increased the shelf-life of fresh ducks to 18 days from the usual seven days for local production and 10 days for exported products from the usual three days."
Jerry Smeih has been awarded the Premium Qatari Vegetables Seal by the Ministry of Municipality and Environment for its high-quality locally-produced vegetables that are grown in farms using modern technology. He said the farm is also into chicken, egg, feeds, fish, honey and vegetable production.
"For the vegetable farm, we have 16 green houses measuring 5,000sqm each and we are adding four more green houses of the same size by the end of October. Our farm aims to increase tomato production to 200 tonnes per annum and cucumber to 75 tonnes every three months," he said.
Mohmoud added that the sophisticated hydroponics system the farm has adopted has helped in conserving up to 70 percent of water and equally helped in increasing farm yield.
Hydroponics, by definition, is a method of growing plants in a water-based, nutrient rich solution. Hydroponics does not use soil, instead, the root system is supported by an inert medium such as perlite, rockwool, clay pellets, peat moss, or vermiculite. The basic premise behind hydroponics is to allow the plant roots to come in direct contact with the nutrient solution, while also having access to oxygen, which is essential for proper growth.
"Since the system is a closed one, it not only saves water but also reduces the use of pesticides, which increases plant nutrients, as well as helps in cutting the cost of labour. For example if 1,000 sqm requires 100 litres of water, in hydroponics system you only need 20 litres since the water is recycled," he added.
He said all the green houses are operated under the latest cooling system technology which ensures that"we have production almost year round".
Speaking about the interest in duck production, the farm manager said the demand for ducks are on the rise as people now see them as a better alternative to chicken.
"For us, we decided to go for ducks as they are highly resistant to the common avian diseases, have less mortality rate and usually live longer than chickens. In case of egg production, ducks lay eggs for a longer period," he said.
He added that duck products such as eggs and meat have great demand in the local and international markets and the yield on them is very high.
