Assistant Undersecretary for Agriculture and Fisheries Affairs at MME Sheikh Dr Faleh bin Nasser Al Thani
Doha: Qatar Food Systems National Dialogue, a two-day event organised by the Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME), concluded yesterday.
It was held in preparation for the UN Food Systems Summit 2021, which will be held next month, with the participation of heads of state of UN members.
Speaking on the occasion, Assistant Undersecretary for Agriculture and Fisheries Affairs at MME Sheikh Dr. Faleh bin Nasser Al Thani said the second day of Qatar Food Systems National Dialogue discussed several important issues regarding the challenges to the food security system, development of strategic stock of essential food items and local production, especially during summer, as well as high prices.
He said discussions were also held on reducing food waste resulting from the pre and post-harvesting process. Several initiatives and ideas were put forward to benefit from the large quantities generated by recycling or reducing them in order to preserve the environment and the food security system and protect the strategic stock in the country.
He added the dialogue was the first of its kind to be discussed at all relevant levels of the country regarding food systems, which comes under the umbrella of the United Nations.
Director of Food Security Department Masoud Jarallah Al Marri said the second session focused on environmentally friendly local production without pressure on natural resources and transforming food system into a sustainable and better system by 2030.
He said the third session discussed food supply chains to ensure fair trade through fair distribution to all parties, reduce risks and increase benefits across the food supply chain, whether producers, outlets and consumers in the country and in the exporting countries. Al Marri said, “The national dialogue aims to work on developing the food system, which we seek to develop to achieve the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030.”
He said during the four sessions, the various bodies from the governmental and private sectors, producers, traders and consumers were introduced to the current food system applied in the State of Qatar, and to listen to their inquiries, initiatives and ideas regarding the development of the food system in the State of Qatar.
Al Marri said everything that was proposed in cooperation with these authorities will be written down, the state’s directions will be set during the next 10 years, and these systems will be developed during the coming years in light of what was discussed in order to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030.
He stressed that the initiatives and ideas that resulted from the National Dialogue will be added in a comprehensive and integrated report that will be submitted to the United Nations by the end of next year.
