Agriculture in Qatar
Agriculture in Qatar is inherently limited in scope due to the harsh climate and lack of arable land.
[1] In spite of this, small-scale farming, nomadic herding, and fishing were the predominant means of subsistence in the region prior to the 20th century.
Sea-based activities such as pearling and fishing served as the primary sources of income for Qataris until the commencement of oil drilling in 1939.
[2] Although the relative importance of these activities has declined as a means of livelihood (with commercial pearling disappearing completely), the government has attempted to encourage agriculture and fishing to provide a degree of self-sufficiency in food.
Lorimer's wrote about the role of agriculture for settled villagers in 1908 in his Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf:[7] "The principal and almost the exclusive source of livelihood in Qatar is pearl-fishing, supplemented in some places by the breeding of camels.
These remarks are not intended to apply to the Bedouins of Qatar, who are pastoral in their habits, like the rest of their race elsewhere, and own livestock in the proportions usual among Arab nomads."
After Qatar began reaping significant monetary returns from oil drilling in the 1950s to 1960s, the number of Qataris employed in agriculture witnessed a decline, as the country now had the means to import large amounts of food.
At the beginning of 1974, the emirate requested the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development to send researchers to study it and corroborate their results with those of an earlier UN report of the country's terrestrial and marine resources.
After nearly half a year of study starting in July 1974, the research mission submitted its report to the government in November 1974.
In September of that year, Qatar created a committee that would examine ways to help boost the country's agricultural development.
[3] Root vegetables such as carrots, potatoes, onions and fodder beets are also some of the most important crops produced by Qatari farms.
[12] Qataris who own agricultural land or properties generally hold government jobs and hire Pakistanis, or non-Qatari Arabs to manage their farms.
[2] In July 2017, following the closure of Qatar's only land border with Saudi Arabia, the country announced plans to airlift 4,000 cows in a bid to meet around one-third of its dairy demand.
Due to its high-calorie content and nutrient density, it was a cheap and quick source of energy for the locals, particularly pearl divers.
This syrup served both civil and commercial purposes, being traded as a commodity and providing sustenance during periods of tribal conflicts and unrest.
While modernization and lifestyle changes initially led to a decline in date syrup consumption, recent trends toward health-conscious alternatives have sparked renewed interest in this traditional sweetener.
However, there are numerous problems with this soil, including high salinity levels, low amounts of nutrients, and a bad water infiltration rate.
[19] Severe conditions, such as extremely high temperatures and lack of water and fertile soil, hinder increased agricultural production.
[2] Orthents, the predominant soil type in the peninsula, accounting for approximately 1,020,000 ha., are unfavorable for crop cultivation because of their extreme shallowness.
[19] The limited groundwater that permits agriculture in some areas is being depleted so rapidly that saltwater is encroaching and making the soil inhospitable to all but the most salt-resistant crops.
It has been suggested that the profession dates back to the Dilmun civilization in Bahrain approximately 5,000 years ago, which the inhabitants of Qatar came into contact with at the time.
[23] The oldest pearl found in the Qatari Peninsula was discovered in a grave at Wadi Debayan in 2022 and has been dated to c. 4600 BCE.
The first method, termed Al-Ghees Asselfi or loan diving, was based on credit extended by the ship's captain.
The second method, called Al-Ghees Tesqam or in kind loan, involved divers leaving their families supplies such as dates, coffee, cardamom, rice, and sugar.
The majority of the divers of Bahrein are Persians, or belong to that semi-Persian community known as the “Baharina.” They are cheated and defrauded by their employers to a degree almost beyond belief.
I asked one of them once in a jocose way whether he was sure that the captain was honest in the reports that were submitted as to the prices secured for pearls and the season’s proceeds.
If he should try to cheat us, ha-a.’’ Here the smile extended till it took in his whole face, and he drew the edge of his hand across his own neck in a gesture the meaning of which could not be misunderstood.
Here is a small diving community where practically all of the men are out of debt, and the atmosphere of freedom and equality, good fellowship and comfort is a refreshing contrast to the conditions in Bahrein.
