26-05-2025
‘National farms' role in food self-sufficiency vital'
Al Ghanim emphasised that it is incredibly important to advance the agricultural support policies in alignment with the imperatives of food security and sustainability. He underlined the pivotal role of national farms in attaining self-sufficiency and the pressing need to dismantle barriers that undermine their competitiveness.
Chairman of the Health, General Services, and Environment Committee HE Mubarak bin Mohammed Al Kuwari reviewed the outcomes and proposals laid down in the report, which addressed the legislative, financial, technical, and oversight dimensions of agricultural support, along with the set of recommendations formulated by the committee following its engagement with the perspectives of the competent entities.
Having fully deliberated on the committee's conclusive findings, the legislature decided to forward a non-binding proposal to the competent government authority outlining a range of measures that support local farms.
The proposal highlights foremost measures such as enacting clear legislations to support domestic production, linking support to production levels, reducing electricity bills, offering specialized agricultural advisory services, encouraging contractual engagement with the private sector, establishing pricing mechanisms for agricultural products, bolstering oversight of imported goods' quality, promoting agro-industrial manufacturing, imposing import restrictions during peak domestic production seasons, and providing accurate statistical data to support agricultural planning.
Afterwards, the legislature examined a draft legislation on biometric fingerprinting and a draft legislation on genetic fingerprinting, both referred by the competent government authority, and resolved to refer them to the Internal and External Affairs Committee for further review and submission of its conclusive findings thereon to the legislature.
On the other hand, the legislature reviewed the report on the participation of its delegation in the 54th Political Bureau Meeting and the 19th Plenary Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean, both of which were convened in Rome, Italy, in February 2025.
Finally, the legislature scrutinized the report on the visit of its delegation to the Hungarian Parliament last April, alongside the report on the participation of its members in the fourth session of the first regular session of the fourth legislative term of the Arab Parliament, which was convened in Baghdad, Iraq, in April 2025.
