Cabinet welcomes Syrian opposition agreement, unity

MOHAMED KHOULAIDI

DOHA THE International Conference on Food Security in Dry Lands (FSDL) opened at the Qatar University (QU) on Wednesday under the patronage of the Heir Apparent His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani.

Speaking at the event, QU President Prof Sheikha al Misnad said, “Food security is an important issue which will define the future development and have impact on global health, economy and even security. No matter what the causes of food shortages in different countries are, to scuttle the harmful effects, joint action and cooperation among researchers, academics, political and governmental institutions are required.” She added: “In the Arab world, the crisis is well-defined. We are one of the world’s regions most dependent on food imports. There may be time when the demand for food be greater because of demographic increase and decrease in agricultural production due to scarcity of water.” On his part, QNFSP Chairman Fahad bin Mohammed al Attiya, who is also the chairman of the conference, said: “Qatar imports more than 90 percent of its food needs and faces lack of water resources. Meanwhile, the seawater desalination has become the sole source of the country’s water supply, a condition that underlines the urgency to create mechanisms to secure water and food stocks in case of any emergency.

“With some changes expected in the coming years, it may be more difficult to provide enough food to the residents. To afford this, the dry countries are working together to organise a discussion forum in order to find long-term solutions to challenges facing food security.” He said the whole world was facing the effects of climate change.

“As a result, all dry countries, which make up 40 percent of the world’s total countries, are threatened by food insecurity as water scarcity has reached alarming proportions in the wake of the climate changes and, hence, the increasing need to develop a regional strategy for food security,” he said.

The conference is expected to come up with some recommendations that represent the consensus of the participants on future courses of action required to ensure food security. It will provide insights into future policies, strategic approaches and investments to boost agricultural production to enhance food security and increase resilience to future price hikes.

There will also be an adoption of the Doha Declaration that would set a target and date for the allocation of a significant proportion of the national public expenditure for programmes and projects to achieve food security on an environmentally, economically and socially sustainable basis.

Over 400 ambassadors, government officials, policy-makers, development experts, scholars and researchers from 50 countries are taking part in the two-day meet.

The conference is being organised by the Qatar National Food Security Programme (QNFSP) in collaboration with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the World Bank (WB), the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the International Centre for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA), the Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), the Arab Water Council and the Centre for International and Regional Studies (CIRS) at Georgetown University.