Qatar Research, Development, and Innovation (QRDI) Council has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Hassad Food aimed at enhancing innovation in the food and agriculture sector in Qatar.

The MoU was signed by Secretary General of QRDI Council, Eng. Omar Ali Al-Ansari and Chief Executive Officer at Hassad Food, Eng. Mohamed Al Sadah on 25^th March 2021.

The MoU with Hassad Food is one of several initiatives planned by QRDI Council in 2021, as driven by the mission of the National Research, Development and Innovation Strategy, QRDI 2030. The strategy supports the country’s broader goal of building a knowledge-based economy, as stipulated by the Qatar National Vision 2030.

The partnership aims to identify opportunities for innovation that support the food and agriculture sector in Qatar and the models appropriate to leverage that innovation.

Commenting on the agreement, Eng. Omar Ali Al-Ansari said: “This MoU furthers our efforts to support the sustainable management of Qatar’s environmental, food and water resources through innovation and technology. We recognise that certain challenges faced by the food and agriculture sector in Qatar are unique to our conditions and therefore cannot be addressed by simply using off-the-shelf solutions. This is where innovative products and services, developed by our local RDI ecosystem, can play a key role.”

Eng. Al-Ansari also noted that QRDI Council will work closely with large local enterprises such as Hassad Food, to create opportunities and an early marketplace, that will incentivize new and existing private sector entities such as local and international start-ups, SMEs and multi-national companies to develop innovative solutions. This will be done by identifying unique challenges, opening facilities for piloting of new technologies and creating mechanisms for co-development of technologies. These private sector entities will be supported by Qatar’s knowledge institutions with talent, technical know-how and specialised equipment. This is part of our drive to create the ecosystem conditions required for the emergence of new R&D intensive industries central to a knowledge-based economy.

For his part, Chief Executive Officer at Hassad Food Eng. Mohamed Al Sadah commented: “It is our pleasure to sign this MoU with QRDI, as we constantly seek to support the local innovation efforts, with the aim to advance the local agriculture sector and achieve self-sufficiency.”

To complement the Qatar National Vision 2030 and the Second National Development Strategy, QRDI Council developed the Qatar Research, Development and Innovation Strategy 2030 (QRDI 2030), which seeks to build the nation’s resilience and prosperity by creating pathways toward exciting job opportunities for future generations and enhancing the competitiveness of Qatar’s local enterprises.

Source: Press Release

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