Muscat, The 6th version of the Omani Dates
Festival, organised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, in
cooperation with the Public Authority for SMEs Development “Riyada”
will be launched tomorrow (Thursday). The Festival includes events,
activities and seminars, the most important of which is that one on the
Omani dates market.
Dr. Fu’ad bin Ja’afar al-Sagwani, Minister of Agriculture and
Fisheries said in a statement that the Omani Dates Festival
compliments the efforts made by the Ministry to develop the
agricultural sector. He added the festival aims at introducing the value
of the Omani dates and raising public awareness on the importance of
dates and date palm trees for Omanis.
He pointed out that the Festival, which will run through from 24
to 31 October, includes a seminar on the Omani dates market. A
number of Omani table and manufactured dates will be displayed. As
more as 70 farmers, factory owners alongside with a number of
relevant public and private organisations will take part at the eight-day
event.
Commenting on the estimates of the local dates production, the
Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries said that as per the survey carried
out by the Ministry in 2017, the production is estimated at 361,000 tons
compared to 355,000 tons in 2016 and 344,000 tons in 2015. While
53% of the production went for human consumption, 6% were
exported, which means that 41% of the production can be processed in
the dates factories. It also means that there are many promising
opportunities for dates processing industries.
He also noted that the Ministry has implemented a number of
development programmes to promote production through guidance
and research. The Ministry also distributed 725,000 seedlings to
farmers at the different parts of the Sultanate in the past period to
replace the old date palm trees with new ones known for high
production.
The Ministry also implemented a project for the development of
the packing and packaging units. It provided subsidy for 200 farmers
from the different parts of the Sultanate. It also distributed 750
packaging machines as part of this project. The Ministry also subsided
more than 20 farmers who own dates units at the local and
international festivals. The Ministry also organised visits to countries
that have advanced experiences in dates marketing.
“Throughout the past five years, the Ministry subsidised the
participation of more than 340 farmers, marketing executives, dates
processing factories owners, SMEs and citizens who carry out domestic
work related to dates,” he concluded.
Source: Oman News Agency