Ministry of Municipality Highlights Qatar's Efforts in Food Security Enhancement on World Food Day

Doha, October 16 (QNA) - The Ministry of Municipality, represented by the Food Security Department, celebrated World Food Day, which falls on October 16 each year, in the presence of HE the Minister of Municipality Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Subaie, with the participation of representatives from state committees and institutions concerned with agricultural production and food safety. This year's celebration was held under the slogan "leave no one behind...better production, better nutrition, better environment, and a better life". The celebration saw a recorded speech presented by HE Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Dr. Qu Dongyu, in which he addressed the issue of food waste around the world, calling for the need to develop solutions to reduce food waste. Additionally, presentations were conducted, including screening an introductory film about the World Food Day 2022 logo and a presentation introducing the "Your Health First" initiative. The celebration included the presentation of a number of working papers whose objective is the transfer of knowledge and experience in matters of agricultural production and food safety. The first working paper introduced the electronic food safety system (Watheq), and the second helped raise awareness of food and nutrition-related topics; for health and well-being. The third working paper dealt with reducing food waste and food preservation. The celebration included an honoring ceremony for a number of representatives of committees and institutions participating in the event, namely: the Food Safety Department at the Ministry of Public Health, the College of Health Sciences at Qatar University, the Preservation of Neema Center, the "Your Health First" initiative - Weill Cornell Medical University-Qatar, and Mahaseel for Marketing and Agricultural Services Company. The Director of the Agricultural Affairs Department at the Ministry of Municipality Yousuf Khalid Al Khulaifi said in a statement on this occasion that the State of Qatar represented by the Ministry of Municipality, is keen on the participation of world countries to celebrate the World Food Day every year; to raise awareness of the importance of everyone's cooperation; to ensure food security and proper nutrition for all. Al Khulaifi pointed out that this year's celebration comes under extremely difficult global conditions and challenges, where political crises, economic and climatic conditions, wars, and conflicts are negatively affecting grain supplies to many countries. All this is leading to an exacerbation of a food crisis in many countries, accompanied by climate change and rising temperatures, negatively affecting agriculture and food production worldwide. The Director of the Agricultural Affairs Department added that the State of Qatar is putting an outstanding effort to support and strengthen the food security system. A few days ago, the State of Qatar won the chair of the Executive Council of the Islamic Organization for Food Security for three years due to its continued support of the food security system locally, regionally, and internationally. Al Khulaifi added that the Ministry of Municipality pays continuous attention to the local agricultural sector to achieve food security, through supporting national farms by providing production inputs, such as chemical and organic fertilizers and pesticides, to vegetable producers, as well as assisting them in marketing their produce, to ensure their access to the best prices, and to reduce food loss and waste. The government also supports concentrated feed, vaccinations, and medicines for livestock producers. Additionally, it facilitates investment in the fish production sector through fish farming and provides the marine fishing sector with equipment, tools, and inputs to help develop agriculture and food production, ensuring access to better production, better food, and a better life for producers and consumers alike. The Director of the Agricultural Affairs Department explained that the Ministry is working on the protection of the available resources, to ensure the sustainability of production. It does so by working on achieving the objectives of the Qatar National Food Security strategy, making use of development and innovation to improve production levels, and ensuring the sustainability of the use of resources. To that end, a grant was offered to research projects in the field of food security, in cooperation with the Qatar National Fund for Scientific Research over the past three years. The State of Qatar is working in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), on the transition to sustainable food systems, for which the Ministry organized the first food systems national dialogue and is currently working on organizing the second dialogue to plan the transition paths for sustainable food production. Al Khulaifi praised the great effort put by the municipal affairs sector in the Ministry, represented by the health control bodies in the municipalities, in achieving food safety through inspection campaigns and daily follow-up of all food establishments, to ensure the preservation of the health and safety of all consumers, in addition to awareness programs and activities to raise awareness of food safety, appreciating the distinguished efforts made by the authorities concerned with food safety in the Ministry of Public Health, and all concerned authorities in the country, which play a major role in this field, in light of the cooperation and continuous coordination with municipalities, to achieve common goals in providing healthy and safe food for all. (QNA)