Page 41 - FULL YEAR BOOK 2021

Qatar

QATAR TO DEVELOP ITS FIRST SOLAR AGRICULTURE GREENHOUSE

Qatar University (QU) is working providing such an environment in hot at the Nabati farm in Mekanees, south of
on developing the country’s first-ever places like Qatar is energy-intensive. Doha. For the last two summers (2018,
thermal insulated greenhouses powered “In subtropical, hot and arid regions, 2019), the field tests have proven very
by solar energy. A step that will bring most of this energy is to cater for the
Qatar closer to its sustainable food required cooling. Sunlight is necessary
security goal.
for healthy plant growth. However, the
With its food security goal being sunlight utilization in the greenhouses
achieved promptly in many areas and is not optimized. The cooling demand
earlier in others, Qatar is paving the is mainly attributed to the admittance
way for more economic and agricultural of excess solar radiation and heat gain
successes by working on its first thermal through the greenhouse walls,” said QU.
insulated greenhouse.
The proposed greenhouse aims to solve
“Qatar has set food security as a priority two shortcomings of the conventional
for the country and set out a commitment greenhouse: amounts of solar radiation
to sustain about 70 percent self-sufficiency entering during the summer season
on greenhouse vegetables. Achieving and the amount of undesired heat. After
sustainable food security was further extensive research and trials, the project promising and the Ministry is looking
ascertained by the ongoing geopolitical used top tier technologies to develop forward to developing Qatar’s first
tensions and the imposed blockade on a thermally insulated greenhouse agriculture greenhouse standards using
the country,” said Dr. Saud Ghani, lead that allows the entry of optimum solar this prototype as a blueprint,”said Dr.
researcher of Greenhouse project and radiation levels through lenses located Ghani.
Professor of Mechanical Engineering at in its roof. Since the blockade, Qatar’s food
College of Engineering.
DR. Saud Ghani, lead researcher of and manufacturing infrastructure have
The project, currently being Greenhouse project and Professor of proven to be robust and resilient,
developed by QU, is funded by the Qatar Mechanical Engineering at College of achieving self-sufficiency in dairy and
National Research Fund and National Engineering. poultry production during a historic
Priority Research Program, and is in When the light enters through the transition phase for the country. The
collaboration with the Department of lenses, the radiation gets distributed production of local vegetables have also
Agricultural Research at the Ministry of over the plants rows, thus providing the reached more than 28 percent of the total
Municipality and Environment. need of the country and it is planned
required levels of solar radiation for to achieve self-sufficiency of up to 70
Made to ensure a controlled growth optimum plant growth. percent in vegetable production within
environment for the plants, greenhouses the coming years.
make it possible to grow certain crops all “The greenhouse prototype is currently
year long and maximise yield. However, under field tests for yield assessments

Crop Production in Qatar
2017 2018
Item Area Yield Production Area Yield Production
harvested Flag (Hg/ Flag (tonnes) Flag harvested Flag (Hg/Ha) Flag (tonnes) Flag
(Ha) Ha) (Ha)
Barley 197 30051 Fc 592 79 30000 Fc 237
Cabbages and other brassicas 142 150845 Fc 2142 143 149790 Fc 2142
Carrots and turnips 8 127500 Fc 102 8 121250 Fc 97
Cauliflowers and broccoli 123 119919 Fc 1475 121 120248 Fc 1455
Dates 2341 120013 Fc 28095 2417 120033 Fc 29012
Eggplants (aubergines) 153 250261 Fc 3829 116 250172 Fc 2902
Fruit, fresh nes 99 33636 Fc 333 45 20222 Fc 91
Grapes 1 40000 Fc 4 1 50000 Fc 5
Maize 51 126471 Fc 645 149 125235 Fc 1866
Tomatoes 301 483821 Fc 14563 648 387419 Fc 25105 Im
Watermelons 26 95000 Fc 247 45 94667 Fc 426
Wheat 7 22857 Fc 16 6 25000 Fc 15
Im: FAO data based on imputation methodology Source: FAO Statistical Division 2019
Fc: Calculated data
Arab Agriculture 2021 39

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