Chinese plant factory technology supports vegetable supply for the Qatar World Cup

On November 20, 2022, the Qatar World Cup officially kicked off at Al Bayt Stadium. This World Cup featured many Chinese elements, with the most "special" being the plant factory technology provided by the Institute of Urban Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, which supported the vegetable supply for players.

Doha, the capital of Qatar, is located on the Qatar Peninsula on the southwestern coast of the Persian Gulf. It has a tropical desert climate, suffers from a severe shortage of freshwater resources, has extremely scarce arable land, and relies mainly on imports for vegetables, fruits, and even freshwater.

During this World Cup, Al Fardan Farm in Qatar specifically introduced Chinese smart LED plant factory technology for vegetable cultivation to ensure the vegetable supply for multiple participating teams.

In 2019, at the request of Qatar, Chinese experts innovatively used discarded shipping containers from deep-sea cargo ships at the Port of Doha as the outer enclosure for smart LED plant factories, based on smart LED plant factory and stacked soil substrate cultivation technologies. They employed key technologies such as plant LED light sources, nutrient solution cultivation, temperature and humidity control, and strontium- and selenium-enrichment. In particular, they combined hydroponics with stacked soil substrate cultivation to create a unique "dual-cultivation technology" , successfully achieving year-round production of high-quality vegetables in the Middle Eastern desert environment.

Currently, Qatar has established multiple containerized plant factory bases and has achieved industrialized production of leafy vegetables and sprouts for two consecutive years under the high summer temperatures of 53-55°C in tropical deserts. All marketed products, including over 10 varieties such as "Shanghai Qing" (bok choy) and lettuce, have passed authoritative national testing in Qatar and fully comply with EU standards. These vegetables are now sold in five-star hotels, Chinese restaurants, and high-end supermarkets in Qatar, enjoying widespread popularity and serving as a key vegetable supply source for this World Cup.

Source: Institute of Urban Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences

Video source: Xinhua News Agency