August 20, 2018        

                                                           
Qatar investor to help local feed sector achieve self-sufficiency
 

Hassad, Qatar's premier investor in food and agribusiness sectors, had announced the start of expansion plans in its foreign and local investments - a move which will help the country's animal feed sector become self-sufficient. 

"We conducted an in-depth research on the local market needs from animal feed, and accordingly, we developed a comprehensive plan which covers both local and foreign strategic expansion to satisfy those needs, as well as secure external sources to be utilised by the country if needed," said Mohamed Al Sadah, CEO of Hassad.

"Hassad is fully aware and supportive of the efforts done by the private sector. We would like to emphasise that Hassad's local investments are complementary to those efforts and not to its competition, thus, all our collective efforts are in the best interest of the local market."

Hassad also announced that it completed the first phase of alfalfa production on 1.5 million square meters of land. The areas is located at Irkkiyah farm, which is owned by Aalaf Qatar, a subsidiary of Hassad. Al Sadah said that this accomplishment is in support of the country's food security efforts.

Currently, the total cultivated area owned by Aalaf Qatar, has reached eight million square metres, and produces alfalfa and Rhodes. The company owns four farms which produce animal feed on a total land area of around 800 hectares located at Irkkiyah, Sailiyah, A'Refaa' and Um Selal. To ensure the availability of  animal feed, it also has several sales points in different locations across Qatar.

In addition, Hassad signed an agreement, in which it will begin negotiations to buy a major stake in one of the biggest fodder-producing projects in Sudan. The project - known as Al Khartoum - currently spans over a land area of 10,000 hectares, and produces an estimated of 150,000 tonnes of Rhodes and alfalfa on a yearly basis.

According to Al Sadah, Hassad is creating a plan for the second phase of expansion within its Qatari farms by the start of 2019 - the objective would be to increase production and introduce new products.

- The Peninsular