Two local companies have been awarded tenders by the Ministry of Municipality and Environment to set up two organic fertiliser factories. They will have a total capacity of 24,000 tonnes, according to an official.
“The contracts will be signed soon and production will be within 15 months to achieve self-sufficiency in this field,” said Masoud Jarullah Al Marri, Executive Secretary, Committee for Monitoring the Implementation of Food Security Policies in the Public and Private Sector of Qatar. He said the two new companies were chosen based on technical evaluation. He noted treatment of waste will be thermal and not sun drying in line with the latest technologies.
Speaking on food production, Al Marri said: “Our food security programme is based on four main pillars: the first is the local production of perishable goods achieving 70 per cent self-sufficiency, while the remaining 30 per cent is left to import goods suitable for expatriates according to their tastes.”
He said Qatar is cooperating with research and consultative councils for development and innovation to give priority to food security research, as well as coordination with Qatar University to launch a programme to serve food security.