Evaluating the Food Profile in Qatar within the Energy-Water-Food Nexus Approach

Abstract

Finding a balance between the capacity for production and the rising demand for food is the first step toward achieving food security. To achieve sustainable development on a national scale, decision-makers must use an energy, water, and food nexus approach that considers the relationships and interactions among these three resources as well as the synergies and trade-offs that result from the way they are handled. Therefore, this paper evaluates the Energy-Water-Food Nexus Profile of Qatar at a superstructural level by applying the Business-As-Usual (BAU) storyline; thus, trends of past data have been used to provide future projections to 2050 using the statistical prediction tools such as the compound annual growth rates of food demand (CAGRFD), international supply (CAGRFI), and the average local food supply change factor (c¯). Once the BAU storyline has been generated, the source-to-demand correlations have been defined for each food category. Such correlations include the annual and average ratios of the local food supply to the total demand (i.e., αi and α¯) and the ratios of the local food supply to the international supply (i.e., βi and β¯). In addition, as an effort to identify the required action to reach food self-sustainability, the additional local food supply to achieve (xi,add) and its ratio to the local demand (γ) have been defined. The highest average ratio of the local food supply to the total demand (αi) was found for the meat category, which was estimated to be 48.3%. Finally, to evaluate the feasibility of attaining food self-sustainability in Qatar, the water consumption (Vw,i) and its corresponding required energy for each food category have been estimated.

Keywords: energy–water–food nexus; food security; resource management; self-sustainability; water security.

Figure 1

The actual population data (2015–2020) and the Cftool-projected population.

Figure 2

The food demand per capita profile from 2016 to 2050 in Qatar for (A) Vegetables, (B) Fruits, (C) Cereals, (D) Meat, (E) Dairy products, (F) Egg products, and (G) Fruit. (H) The demand percentage [Mass %] for each food category with respect to the overall food demand. (I) The food demand compound annual growth rate.

Figure 3

The local food supply per capita profile from 2016 to 2050 in Qatar for (A) Vegetables, (B) Fruits, (C) Cereals, (D) Meat, (E) Dairy products, (F) Egg products, and (G) Fruit. (H) The local food supply percentage [Mass %] for each food category with respect to the overall local food supply. (I) The average local food supply change factor.

Figure 4

Local agricultural area in Qatar from 2016 to 2050 in Qatar for (A) Vegetables, (B) Fruits, (C) Cereals, (D) Meat, dairy, and egg products, and (E) Total area. (F) The local agricultural percentage for each food category with respect to the total in 2050.

Figure 5

International food supply per capita profile from 2016 to 2050 in Qatar for (A) Vegetables, (B) Fruits, (C) Cereals, (D) Meat, (E) Dairy products, (F) Egg products, and (G) Fruit. (H) The international supply percentage [Mass %] for each food category with respect to the overall international supply. (I) The international food supply compound annual growth rate.

Figure 6

The annual and average ratios of the local food supply to the total demand (${\mathsf{\alpha }}_i$ ) and ($\overline{\mathsf{\alpha }}$) for (A) Vegetables, (B) Fruits, (C) Cereals, (D) Meat, (E) Dairy products, (F) Egg products and (G) Fruit.

Figure 7

The annual and average ratios of the local food supply to the international supply (${\mathsf{\beta }}_i$ ) and ($\overline{\mathsf{\beta }}$) for (A) Vegetables, (B) Fruits, (C) Cereals, (D) Meat, (E) Dairy products, (F) Egg products and (G) Fish.

Figure 8

The annual and average ratios of the additional local food supply to achieve food-self sustainability ($x_{i,add})$ to the local demand ($\mathsf{\gamma }$) for (A) Vegetables, (B) Fruits, (C) Cereals, (D) Meat, (E) Dairy products, (F) Egg products, and (G) Fish.

Figure 9

Water consumption ($V_{w,i}$) per capita [${\mathrm{m}}^3/\mathrm{cap}$] for the local food supply of (A) Vegetables, (B) Fruits, (C) Cereals, (D) Meat, and (E) Dairy products. (F) Water consumption share ($V_{w,i}/V_{tot}$) for each food category.

Figure 10

Water consumption ($V_{w,i}$) per capita [${\mathrm{m}}^3/\mathrm{cap}$] for the additional local food supply to achieve food self-sustainability ($x_{i,add})$ for (A) Vegetables, (B) Fruits, (C) Cereals, (D) Meat, (E) Dairy products. (F) Water consumption share ($V_{w,i}/V_{tot}$) for each food category.

Figure 11

Energy consumption ($E_i$) per capita [$\mathrm{kWh}/\mathrm{cap}$] for local food supply ($x_i)$ for (A) Vegetables, (B) Fruits, (C) Cereals, (D) Meat, and (E) Dairy products.

Figure 12

Energy consumption ($E_i$) per capita [$\mathrm{kWh}/\mathrm{cap}$] for the additional local food supply to achieve food self-sustainability ($x_{i,add})$ for (A) Vegetables, (B) Fruits, (C) Cereals, (D) Meat, (E) Dairy products.