DOHA: Minister of Environment and Municipality H E Mohamed bin Abdullah Al Rumaihi said that Qatar has harnessed all its energies to ensure food security in the country. The Minister said that the wise leadership is keen to develop natural resources, especially the agricultural ones in order to achieve self-sufficiency in production of many goods and products.
This came in a speech of the Minister on the occasion of World Food Day, which falls on October 16 (today) which is being celebrated this year under the theme ‘Zero Hunger’.
The Minister said that Qatar’s celebration of World Food Day is a confirmation of the importance of food and the need to provide it to everyone living on its land, adding that the theme of this year’s celebration is to raise public awareness of the problem of hunger and to highlight the suffering of the hungry people in the world.
He stressed the need to take measures to combat hunger, adding that everyone is concerned about the problem of hunger and all governments, countries, institutions and individuals have a role in eliminating hunger.
He pointed out that the FAO is trying through this occasion to highlight the right of people to get food, and urged governments to provide food for their people and investment in agriculture and food sector.
Al Rumaihi noted that at the local level, the Ministry of Municipality and Environment has an important responsibility for food security and natural resource development to increase production and increase self-sufficiency.
“The Ministry has adopted plans and strategies based on increasing the production of agricultural commodities in the country such as vegetables, red meat, poultry, eggs and fish,” said the Minister. He added that the agricultural sector was able to achieve a great leap in order to cover the requirements of the local market and raise the self-sufficiency in the sectors of agriculture, animals and fish.
He also expressed his hope that the ministry will take part in the celebration of World Food Day, organize a number of activities and awareness activities with the participation of a number of stakeholders in food security and the elimination of hunger, convey the message of awareness of the problem of hunger and the importance of reducing it, and to the importance of the role that every responsible person can play in combating it.
The Ministry of Municipality and Environment, on this occasion will organise an event at Ezdan Mall in Al Gharafa from October 16 to 18, in cooperation with a number of stakeholders such as the Ministry of Public Health and the Qatari Red Crescent among others and a number of local productive farms and animal production companies in Qatar.
World Food Day, which falls on October 16, marks the anniversary of the creation of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 1945. According to UN agencies, the number of hungry people in the world reached 821 million this year.
