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Business / Qatar Business

Agrico to develop new farmlands

Published: 25 Nov 2020 - 08:30 am | Last Updated: 28 Dec 2021 - 11:39 am
Agrico’s Managing Director Nasser Ahmed Al Khalaf.

Agrico’s Managing Director Nasser Ahmed Al Khalaf.

Lani Rose R Dizon | The Peninsula

Agrico, a private Qatari agricultural development company and the ‘only hydroponics organic farming company in the country’, is planning to develop another 100 hectares of farmlands in Qatar within the next three years, an official has said. 

The company, which started to develop its sophisticated hydroponics technology in 2010, has already developed three farmlands spread over 15 hectares of land in the country. To date, Agrico supplies 90 percent of the organic vegetables and fruits from the local market, and produces around 3,000 tonnes of produce each year, Agrico’s Managing Director Nasser Ahmed Al Khalaf (pictured) told The Peninsula on the sidelines of the launch of the “Week of Italian Cuisine in Qatar” recently. 

Established with the aim of helping Qatar achieve food security, Agrico seeks to increase local production of vegetables and fruits, as well as to support other farms across the country to shift to organic and hydroponics production, said Al Khalaf.  

He added: “Agrico is not only a producer, but also a farm developer. We have developed about 15 hectares of three different farms around the country. We have another 100 hectares of farmlands in the pipeline to be developed within the next three years. We are the only hydroponics organic farming company in Qatar, and we made Qatar the third country in the world to adopt the technology. We developed our hydroponics technology and have also registered a patent for it”. 

According to industry figures, the global hydroponics market is expected to reach $21.54bn by 2027. The use of hydroponics systems helps conserve natural resources. However, the high capital investment for large-scale farms is hampering the growth of the market. 

In Qatar, Agrico is at the forefront of the growing hydroponics organic movement in the local market. The company has also partnered with the Qatar Fertiliser Company (QAFCO) and the Norway-based Yara International in 2018 to establish a Hydroponic Trial and Demonstration Centre in Qatar to test local greenhouse technologies, nutrient management and best horticultural practices. 

The company was also the first local farm in Qatar to export its vegetable products to neighbouring countries in the region in 2016, added Al Khalaf. He said, however, that the sector is still nourishing and that there is still a lot of room for development, citing a 28 percent rate of self-sufficiency on vegetables and fruit products during peak season.