Chongqing - Two young Chinese people started growing vegetables in Qatar four years ago. With the help of Chinese agricultural technology and persistent exploration, they successfully became the first team to grow vegetables locally in Qatar. Today, the fruits harvested by the vegetable planting team add a touch of green to Qatar's World Cup and enrich the local people's tables.
Can Qatar grow vegetables?
Staff at the Alpha Dan Farm, established in the desert tens of kilometers north of Doha, Qatar's capital, are tremendously busy these days. The team is frequently required to harvest all night since the freshest vegetables must be delivered to various supermarkets, hotels, and Chinese restaurants in Qatar before 5 a.m.
Gao Yuntao, founder of the Chongqing vegetable-growing team, said they had reached supply agreements with several supermarkets during the World Cup. They have prepared four to five hundred kilograms of vegetables for the World Cup. "Driving south to north across Qatar takes no more than three hours. We also provide door-to-door delivery for member clients so that veggies may be put on the shelves or delivered to the customer's kitchen table in two hours."
Gao Yuntao, founder of the vegetable planting team. (Photo provided to iChongqing)
Due to its location in a tropical desert, Qatar has historically relied heavily on imports for most fruits and vegetables, particularly green leafy ones. In recent years, Qatar has opted to adopt essential technology from major vegetable-growing nations such as China and the European Union to boost the country's vegetable self-sufficiency rate.
Gao Yuntao experimented with growing vegetables in the desert after graduating from college. "Vegetables are quite pricey in Qatar. 99.9% of cabbage, lettuce, and spinach need to be imported, so the idea of growing vegetables was born at that time."
Vegetable "oasis" built in the desert
The exploration began in the summer four years ago. Qatar's summers are hot and humid. Temperatures can reach 50°C, while humidity levels can approach 90%. It is challenging to work in an environment like a "sauna room." Several countries attempted and failed to cultivate leafy greens in Qatar decades ago.
Gao said they only went through a lengthy trial procedure to choose the seeds. The team tested 45 seeds from seven countries to select the best Shanghai Green Pac Choy seeds.
Unlike other farms, the veggies at Alpha Dan Farm are entirely cultivated in containers. The air conditioner outside the container is rumbling, but the temperature inside is consistently maintained between 22°C and 28°C. Thanks to the cutting-edge planting technology developed by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, these abandoned ocean freighter containers can be converted into intelligent LED plant factories.
The team grows vegetables inside containers. (Photo provided to iChongqing)
Qi Zhiyong, chief scientist of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, introduced that their expert team with relevant research institutions and enterprises have explored key technologies and planting methods, such as the use of plant LED light sources, nutrient solution cultivation, three-dimensional planting, temperature control, and humidity regulation.
Continue to expand market
It has grown from five containers to 60 ones and established a greenhouse. The goods produced by the planting crew have increased from two vegetable kinds to more than 30 varieties, and they are highly well-liked in Qatar. The Shanghai Green Pac Choy they cultivated has served on the tables of 800,000 local East Asians and Southeast Asians and in Qatari supermarkets. And it is more readily available, of higher quality, and at a more affordable price than imported vegetables.
Ling Yuhao, the team's co-founder, is still performing free publicity for local specialties in distant regions of the country and voluntarily promoting various domestic rural revitalization programs to the world. "I hope the world can see more unique Chinese aspects," Ling Yuhao added.