Sahara Forest Project in Qatar Seeks to Reduce Reliance on Food Imports

Doha, December 01 (QNA) - Sahara Forest Project in Qatar says it seeks to contribute to plans undertaken by Qatari government and organizations to reduce the heavy reliance on food imports, referring to concrete steps being taken in this regard. The Project officials said that within three years they will be capable of building mega plants to generate power, extract fertilizer and desalinate water. This was announced at a press conference held today on the sidelines of the eighteenth edition of climate change conference in Doha and addressed by Project CEO Joachim Hauge. The project, which is funded by Yara International ASA, a global firm specializing in agricultural products, and Qatar Fertilizer Company (QAFCO), has a unique combination of promising environmental technologies. He explained that the idea of the project is based on setting up greenhouses where seawater is used to provide cold and wet conditions for growing vegetables and fruit. In a response to a question by Qatar News Agency over Qatar's ability to secure its needs in the future from this project, Hauge said: "We hope that we can contribute to the plans undertaken by the government and national organizations such as the Qatar National Food Security Programme, and others." Of course we have great ambitions to reduce reliance on imported food, he said. The accomplishment of increasing food production by 70% by the year 2070 will be a major challenge for humanity, he stresses, while adding that organizations are working tirelessly to meet the challenges in the future. Water scarcity has key affects on the environment and lead to desertification and climate change, the Project CEO said, stressing that there is a need for an approach to handle the interlaced challenges. The Sahara Forest Project seeks to combine and make use of various climate technologies, Hauge added, saying that saltwater is used to grow crops and solar energy is used in innovative technologies. The project officials showcased photos of Concentrated Solar Power, the first facility in Qatar, which includes three centers for saltwater desalination, in addition to the greenhouses to grow crops and a large number of crops in addition to test samples. The officials said that they are planning to produce electric power from this facility, pointing out that there will be more facilities for the production of plants through the use of saltwater. Moreover, the facility has systems for algae production, the first of its size in the region. The officials added that the reasons behind locating this project in Qatar were due to the availability of a set of basic elements necessary for success, at the top of which is endeavors to tackle the water, food and energy challenges, highlighting that the global challenges exert significant pressure on available resources. Michael Pawlyn, Founding Partner of the Sahara Forest Project, said that the project is only launched in areas suffering or may face the effects of climate change, noting that Qatar imports about 95% of its food, and is dependent on seawater as well as on fossil fuels. Pawlyn said that the Qatari government with high aspirations deal with these challenges in the context of its National Vision 2030 and other strategic plans. He pointed out that the reason why this project is set up in Qatar was primarily due to the Qatari government's desire to cooperate, and out of the fact that Qatar needs Sahara Forest Project, particularly as it suffers from the climate change. (END)