More fodder farms to meet growing demand

07 May 2010
DOHA: Qatar will set up several new fodder farms to meet the high demand for green fodder in the local market, the Minister of Municipality and Urban Planning H E Sheikh Abdurrahman bin Khalifa Al Thani has said.

This was disclosed in a letter sent by the Minister to the Central Municipal Council (CMC) in response to the latter's call to address the severe shortage of fodder in the country. The letter was read out by CMC chairman Nasser Al Kaabi during their regular weekly session on Tuesday.

Sheikh Abdurrahman said addressing the phenomenon of rising fodder prices was among the top priorities of the government and for that purpose several farms have already been set up in collaboration with Hassad Company.

To offset the shortage of animal feed in the market and preserving the country's ground water, Hassad has set up a farm in Al Arakiya. Al Rakiya farm is now supplying the local market with consistent quantities of locally produced fodder at competitive prices.

Several new farms are going to be set up in Al Sailiya, Al Reffae and Um Salal localities soon. Similar projects will be launched in Al Khor and Al Dhakhira.

Implementation of these projects is believed to help Qatar achieve food security in the long term as the production of green fodder will bridge the gap between demand and supply. This in return will encourage farmers to raise animals.

The Consumer Protection Department at the Ministry of Business and Trade had announced strict measures to regulate prices of animal feed and curb monopoly.

CMC also discussed a report of its General Services Committee on street lights. The report said that despite CMC's previous recommendations raised to the Public Works Authority (Ashghal), some roads were still suffering from a lack of adequate lighting. This situation is leading to a number of road mishaps, said the committee.

CMC recommended to establish a monitoring centre to follow-up disruption of lights on the roads. It urged AshghalAshghalLoading... to ensure that all roads have proper lighting.

© The Peninsula 2010

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