ZERO HUNGER; OUTREACH; 2019
On the occasion, Community spoke to Dr Helmi Hamdi, head of Food and Water Security program at Center for Sustainable Development (CSD), College of Arts and Sciences in Qatar University. He is an agronomist and PhD in Resource Management and Environmental Science earned at Okayama University, Japan in 2006.
With the growing population, and increasing demand for food, energy and water, sustainable development has become an important issue. The center aims to develop innovative and integrated solutions, which address many contemporary and significant challenges posed by the rapid economic and demographic changes in Qatar.
Under the direction of Dr Hareb al-Jabri, CSD’s mission is to create a platform for knowledge and advanced technologies in sustainable development through applied multidisciplinary research in alignment with Qatar’s National Research Strategy, the Qatar National Vision 2030 and the research agenda of Qatar University. As such, research activities are focused on five interconnected multidisciplinary research programs: Algal Technologies, Waste Management, Natural Resource Governance, Renewable Energy, and Food and Water Security.
Speaking about Food and Water Security program, Dr Hamdi said: “The growing population increases the demand on food and feed and raises awareness about the global challenge of food security. Increasing local food and feed production has a high priority in Qatar to achieve greater food self-sufficiency, reduce dependency on imports and cope with risks of interrupted food supplies. However, it is difficult to achieve food security with conventional production systems due to limited resources and harsh conditions. More precisely, major challenges reside in limited arable lands, poor soil structure, arid climate, and depleted freshwater resources. In this regard, the CSD is developing innovative technologies to produce food and feed resources, whilst linking sustainable agriculture to water-use efficiency and adapted practices.
Elaborating on the main research topics of the programmed, the agronomist said: “The soil enhancement is our main subject. The use of local alternative sources of organic matter to improve soil structure and fertility, considering environmental pollution control is necessary. In this regard, conventional and unconventional bio-wastes such as cow manures, bio sludges and food waste composts are valuable and available resources that can enhance soil properties if well reused.”
He added: “The other important research area is wastewater treatment and reuse. Qatar receives approximately 70mm of rain per year, which is not sufficient for agricultural activities and for recharging depleting groundwater resources estimated at 100 million m3 per year. To cope with freshwater shortages, CSD strategy consists of monitoring irrigation techniques for better water use efficiency, and the reuse of high-quality treated sewage effluent (TSE) as an alternative water source for crop production.”
The expert further said: “In addition to exploring alternative agricultural inputs (water and biofertilisers), the program aims also to select and grow crop species that are adapted to Qatari soil and climatic conditions. The list includes halophytes (salt-tolerant plants), xerophytes (drought-tolerant plants), medicinal and aromatic plants, and fodder crops.”
He added: “Through the development of innovative farming practices, such as mixed intercropping, hydroponics and greenhouse technologies can allow for higher production efficiency in more confined and controlled conditions.”