Self Reliance in Qatar has become a prominent aspect after being blockaded by neighboring gulf countries. This ultimately led Qatar to become more dependent on producing locally. New agricultural businesses like Baladna arose to begin producing necessary foods. Qatar was able to act quickly to annihilate a short supply of products locally, and prices for other dairy products rose before the opening of Baladna. Before Qatar grew to become self-sufficient its food production was merely from abroad, but that changed quickly. This was a moment of pride as the people were able to see products being made upfront in Baladna. It’s critical to acknowledge that even with the arising social benefits behind the scenes, there is a relationship between the local/national and global/ transnational. Qatar was able to be self-dependent, but before being so, the country had to import cows from abroad so that there would be a consistent supply of dairy products produced locally. This portrays the ideas of slow food as it promotes cultural and environmental aspects and deterritorialization in Qatar as a way to guarantee food security through a modern take.
Slow Food, Low Tech in Qatar:
Although Qatar has proven great lengths of success with producing locally and very efficiently, it is critical to unveil that it is not as easy as it looks. Qatar struggled in the past to grow its local food industry because of a lack of nutrient-filled soils, technologies, and other areas. This forced Qatar to depend on having fertilizers sent from other Middle Eastern countries as well as having them import food from their own local produce. This made Qatar’s own local produce be very limited in markets and wasn’t bought very often before the blockade in 2017. When really analyzing the pattern of Qatar’s growth after the pandemic, it looked like a fast recovery action, despite requiring many steps to fulfill that. This is extremely similar to the argument Allison Carruth makes in her text “Slow Food, Low Tech”. She emphasizes the complexity that comes with trying to improve ecological diversity and cultural aspects when dealing with certain environmental issues. Carruth criticizes there are problems with the slow food motions, she is skeptical of the idea of a sustainable agriculture system and slow food production. In Qatar, It is considered a slow food production but with the immense help of technology, labor, and fertilizers that are imported from overseas. This indicates that there is a local and national relationship with Qatar’s agriculture, as they tend to require help from abroad to keep up with local produce. It is not critical to be preserving local foods as much as we assume. For example, locals in Qatar have a mixed preference for what they would purchase in the grocery stores, some would prefer organic foods (which are not local) and some explicitly go to the grocery store to find locally manufactured foods.
During the blockade, many locals mentioned that they are proud to see local produce in the markets, that they chase any opportunity they get to consume them, and that it is also a cheaper product compared to imported produce. But others suggested that they go to certain markets such as Monoprix in order to get the produce from abroad. When analyzing it, there is an ironic sense to it in a way, Qatar’s food cannot be fully seen as local produce because it does receive help from countries about to be manufactured. This is not in any way demeaning how local produce is being made but rather portrays the relationship that local produce has on transnational networks. Without these networks, Qatar wouldn’t be able to have local produce regularly, to begin with. Additionally, the concept of urban political ecology is present in Carruth’s essay, she discusses that slow food has its security issues arguably that is seen in the context of Qatar during the blockade. Carruth discusses the concept of ecological security isn’t solely a local matter but rather a more global aspect that should be intertwined within countries. The quality of food doesn’t necessarily mean it’s worse if it comes abroad but some tend to see it as unclean. The concept of globalization through agribusinesses appeared in Qatar’s implementation of their own dairy-producing farm, to start the business they needed cows immediately. Which led them to import cows from countries like Australia and Germany in an attempt to have guaranteed food security that will benefit the community. To this day it proves that social benefits are crucial in forming a bond between people and agriculture, which is why Qatar has opened the doors of the Baladna Farm for anyone to enter to witness production itself. This doesn’t only enhance Qatar’s economy but preserves its culture and biodiversity.
Deterritorialization in Qatar:
Generally, there is a negative connotation with the concept of deterritorialization, but Heise looks at how it is a positive aspect of the environment. She focuses on becoming a citizen of the world by being able to delocalize an environment and feel restrained about a certain area.
Heise argues that there should be an emphasis on how communities and individuals are tied together with the areas that they inhabit and that a subtle understanding of the emphasis on environmental aspects of local areas is a product of international and global forms. Many environmentalists think that local implications should be more represented. However, Heise proves otherwise, there should be a de-localized value in aspects to give a more well-rounded view of what an environment really consists of. Deterritorialization has enriched society with more modern and higher mobility and altered local industries that benefit the social, cultural, and economic aspects. Deterritorialization is executed in Qatar as mentioned in the previous paragraph by importing materials that are required to enhance Qatar’s environmental system. Materials are necessary for the growth of plants, technology, and labor, all of which portray the sense that Qatar is a privileged country that is affected by deterritorialization.
Heiss also mentions that even though there is cultural and social uproar there is also a critical side of deterritorialization and there are fast effects that delocalization and global influences have on the day-to-day lives of communities. This is a structure seen in Qatar’s approach to creating Baladna in Qatar, these agricultural farms are seen everywhere else in the world, but Qatar needed a political shock like the blockade in order to widen their prospects. By bringing in cows and technologies from abroad Qatar is now in full control over its dairy and food production. They can rely on themselves on how much they should produce based on how much is being consumed. Baladna overall proves the values that it is a local and transnational business that emphasizes the idea of deterritorialization. This is because most of the produce is sold in Qatar’s markets, but a percentage of the products are also being exported. This shows how Qatar was influenced by bringing in cows from abroad, but now is proceeding to extend their agribusiness by supplying across national borders, therefore raising the success of the farm business. Again proving Heisses argument that having de-localized values comes with great opportunities that venture into having a more modern take on the environment.
To conclude, Qatar is a great example of how the relationship between the local/national and global/ transnational is required for a country to be self-sufficient. With the blockade as a shifting movement moment, Qatar has undergone several procedures in order to be stable and enhance its economy. Local agribusiness was made which promoted social benefits for locals to gain a connection with the environment. Overall, it was important to acknowledge that the country’s independence, including help from abroad, and importing resources, materials, and technologies all played a role in creating food security locally.
Author: Devilish_Hoopoe
Baladna plays a crucial part in dairy production in Qatar, part of the growth of Baladna came from having a local farm located in the north of Qatar (Al Khor). Due to lack of time I wasn’t able to go experience the Baladna Farm myself, I took it upon myself to Interview a couple of people that did attend the farm. Most said they went to the farm to have breakfast where all the food was made from local Baladna products. I asked them if they were able to see the factory producing the dairy, to which one replied “Yes, we could, there were modules of cows too. On one area of the farm, we were able to milk the cows ourselves which was fun and out of the ordinary.” Having experiences like this makes locals feel closer to the products that they are eating. This is a social benefit as people can see how their dairy products are being manufactured. However, the interviewees also mentioned that “Although this was an enlightening experience to milk the cows, it could be a health precaution as the cows are being milked by people outside of the factory, which means they could have unsanitary hands or unnecessary germs that come with the produce. Another Interviewee said “It was a very different experience to what we are used to, when going to the farm it felt like a different world. I think it’s because we’re so used to urban life we forget the small things like the beauty of the environment’s structure”.
Naess’s “The Third World Wilderness and Deep Ecology” discusses the western view of wilderness in third-world countries. The key argument is that third-world countries will be evicted from their homes as a reason to make more room for species. Even though all mankind lived in the wilderness in a sense. There is the concept of rich countries being the countries that have deep ecology regimes and they can “afford” the luxury of the wilderness in their nations. I recognize that it’s a big jump to discuss deep ecology with the topic of the introduction of Baladna in Qatar. However, what aspect I am delving into is the concept of development in the agricultural sense. An issue was found in the nation of Qatar, the shortage of dairy products after the blockade and how it is a part of citizens’ desires to consume these products. But ultimately a solution was found, this could be linked to the idea that being a rich country with luxuries in hand is beneficial in acting fast in such situations. Qatar imported cows from abroad and created a new agricultural farm that boosted the economy. Which was critical in making a change and thinking fast to get more cows into Qatar to be placed on a farm to produce.
Why I related this to the text is because Naess suggests that Third World Countries tend to live in deserted areas and “subsistence agriculture” is imposed on them. Gary Synder’s formulation was mentioned in the essay, He believes that the misplacement and the invasion of species are letting the poor not be able to reach economic progress and for the richer countries to be more focused on the urbanization of these countries. By turning these areas in Qatar into agricultural farms, it is not only enabling economic progression but also a better use for the environment. Therefore creating Agricultural farms and moving species into them is not always threatening as the writer suggests. One critique I will say however is how Qatar is seen as a Third World country but also one with a fast economic development, which made Qatar rich and thriving in a short period due to oil reserves. But with the blockade and the need to rely on itself, Qatar’s economy is boosting as well as its environmental aspects that allow people to create a deeper relationship with the environment.
When attending different grocery markets in Qatar, there are some markets like Monoprix and Mega mart who rely most on imported produce rather than products that are locally produced. But when I took it upon myself to see markets like Al Meera, more local produce like vegetables were produced in Qatar. Although there is an environmental agricultural problem in Qatar previously that suggested Qatar’s geographical location is not fit for produce, Qatar’s produce is thriving in the markets. To find answers on whether or not the people of Qatar prefer locally produced or imported goods I asked different people at Monoprix and Al Meera. It was evident that people that go to Monoprix purposely go to get French products, not necessarily vegetables or fruits. A handful of people said the produce from abroad was “more flavorful”, whereas others believed that local produce are “fresh and are likely to be stored longer”. The questions were distributed amongst Qataris and non Qataris just to avoid a sense of bias within this research. When examining the produce in Almeera, more products were Qatari products, like tomatoes and cucumbers. Monoprix products were mainly from Jordan and Morocco and Belgium. A particular interview with a Qatari woman in Almeera suggested that she would prefer foods from Qatar for a number of reasons, the first being that she justifies Qatar produce as more “trusting”, she is concerned about the genetically modified foods that come from abroad and what that can do to ones body. She also claimed that Qatar food is more fresh just like everyone else interviewed.However, within this study I asked the people if they think Qatar’s produce is a problem and most said that it never occurred to them to be in a situation where there would be a shortage of produce, but due to our geographical location it could be understood differently by outsiders.
This study reminds me of environmentalist Guhas text “Radical American Environmentalism and WIlderness Preservation: A Third World Critique”. His text argues the critique the west has on third world countries and their ecology, in simpler terms the involvement of politics has a major contribution within the environment. His text argues that anthropocentrism and biocentrism differentiation is what showcases the issues of environmental degradation in the third world.Given that Qatar is considered a part of the Southern Hemispheres “Global South” this would immediately categorize them as part of the Third world countries. With Qatar being a very hot country, the issue of production is also something that the west would fit us into being a country that suffers from lack of produce, hence requiring the west to step in and help. Although the west could see our issue of produce as something that limits us, Qatar still finds different solutions that contribute to food production being effective. Solutions such as getting soil from abroad, produce from abroad and fertilizations too.
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My case study will be looking at Qatar in a more Eco-Marxist perspective, Qatar’s had exposure to oil as an energy source, leading to more labor implementations resulting as well as the increased sense of capitalism. However, with this industrialization also comes an increased level of environmental pollution, as more factories are present to better Qatar’s economy. Qatar tends to prioritize their need to better the environment, which is why new forms of agriculture are embedded into Qatar’s culture. Henceforth, Qatar is now familiar with planting more trees in Education City, parks and deserted Sites. Alongside being a more independent country, Qatar strives to have local produce through farms such as “Baladna” which is the main source of dairy and food produce currently. With this produce farm being a highly demanded market, enters the term “capitolence” which Kunkel introduced in his text. Capitalism will naturally exist always and will always be present unless humans no longer exist, which is why as humans we are used to hearing about capitalism. Additionally, like the complexity of the ecosystem there is also a complexity of the labor system, add them both together and it creates an even more problematic system. Which in turn would define the environmental system as a more capitolecene than an Anthropocene. This is seen in Qatar as mentioned due to the desire to continue growing the economy, having a more green environment, as well as a clean green political mindset.
Other than environmental economic aspects being taken care of by leading authorities, the people of qatar have also engaged in numerous projects willingly in order to become a part of the environmental change. For example, in December of 2019 Qatar tried out a new initiative to plant one million trees all around Qatar. Students like myself voluntarily became a part of this journey. Successfully the country was able to reach the desired outcome of trees planted. This initiative works against the idea of the capitalocene, as this was not an initiative for labor workers to perform but have Qatar’s population take part in enhancing our environment. This in turn almost creates a new sense of life in Qatar, motivating its people to take part rather than create forced labor into migrant workers. This is also aiding Moores claim that what brings together climate, food, work and finance is the fact that capitalism is a common factor within all of these areas. It proves that we live in a capitalist society and that production and power is ever reliant on causing ecological problems. This issue of capitalism in Qatar within the environmental sector should be fixed in order to solve this social, economic and environmental issue. The country can do so by creating more people based initiatives, decreasing labor hours and promoting ways to society that will better their uses/ storage of their products, all of which will decrease the demand of labor.
