Ensuring food security...

Exacerbated by multiple blows from the increasing frequency and severity of climate change and environmental shocks and the Covid-19 pandemic, food security has been at the top of the agenda of most governments in the world in recent years. Adding fuel to the fire is the unending war between Russia and Ukraine.

Though market conditions improved in recent months, food prices continue to be high above the 2021 levels with the expectations of no imminent relief as the outlook remains challenging.

Fertiliser remains expensive on a historical basis, and farmers have been using less to conserve costs; that could reduce crop yields in upcoming harvests. Russia accounts for 14 per cent of global fertiliser supplies.

Before the war, Ukraine was the fourth largest global exporter of cereals before the invasion. Combined, Russia and Ukraine exported around 28 per cent of the world’s wheat and 15 per cent of its maize in 2019. The world’s population is snowballing. It is estimated that by 2050, 9.3 billion people will be living on this planet and they will all need access to sufficient food.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) expects the world food import bill to reach a new record this year, though it is predicted to grow at a much slower pace compared to last year, as rising world prices, especially in the most economically vulnerable countries.

“Notwithstanding this generally positive outlook, the global food production systems remain vulnerable to shocks, stemming from extreme weather events, geopolitical tensions, policy changes and developments in other commodity markets, with the potential to tip the delicate demand-supply balances and impacting prices and world food security”, the latest report from FAO warns.

Amidst these challenges, global food security is probably the most important problem. Countries are resorting to the tried and tested method of export bans and are stockpiling wheat and other grains to minimise the impact on domestic consumers. Many countries of the Middle East and North Africa have been directly affected because of their high dependence on food imports from Russia and Ukraine, but thanks to their comprehensive agricultural policies, some of them could resist the “food shocks” to a large extent.

However, food experts opine that improving grain storage, particularly in countries highly reliant on imports, and helping those countries grow more staple food at home could help survive the situation to a large extent.

For the Sultanate of Oman, with its growing population and rising consumption needs, food security has been at the heart of its agricultural policy. This focus has seen the government increase domestic production and thereby reduce its reliance on imports.

For example, is the recent increase in areas for wheat cultivation and its high yield in recent months. Wheat is a staple food in Oman and it has been a major crop in the farming systems of Oman.

The high output has contributed to the Oman government circumventing the wheat shortage following the export ban imposed by many countries. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources distributes wheat seeds to farmers every season, and provides harvesters during the wheat harvest, in addition to technical supervision.

The country has the potential to increase the production of wheat, as it has past experience in wheat cultivation, the right climate and reasonably high average yields, subject to resource availability, particularly water. Domestic cultivation of wheat may be considered a minimal strategic measure to assure food security.

The 2040 Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development Strategy in Oman aims to promote agricultural sector sustainability through investments, increase economic revenues, create job opportunities for nationals, support rural communities, and limit structural imbalances in the agricultural sector.

The plan seeks to make agriculture, forestry and fishery more productive and sustainable. To this end, the programme will support projects that increase competitiveness in the crop and livestock sectors. Oman is one of the world’s top 10 producers of dates, growing about 400,000 tonnes per year.