The Ministry of Environment has announced that it will close down all three farmers' markets on Sunday as the summer season is now in full-swing.

The 'three-day-a-week' markets, locally and popularly called Al Mazrouah, are located in 3 different areas of the country. One is located near Umm Salal, another in Al Khor that also covers residents of Al Dhakhira and the third in Al Wakra.

The markets will remain open for this week and will operate for the last time this season on May 30, the ministry said in a statement.

Al Mazrouah markets are quite popular as they vend fresh vegetables and other produce sourced from local farms at cheaper rates and in very attractive packaging.

The market had large stocks of produce that included a wide variety of fresh vegetables like cucumber, spinach, lettuce, khoosa, potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, cabbages, carrots, capsicum and other popular vegetables sourced from Qatari farms.

Al Mazrouah in Arabic means cultivation in a loose sense and the concept refers to agricultural produce. In Qatar’s context, it means markets to promote local farm produce.

The markets will reopen for the next season on November 1 until May 2016, according to The Peninsula.

Photo by Leslie Hill