AL MUDHAIBI: Grape harvest season began in a number of wilayats of the Al Sharqiyah North Governorate from mid-May and will continue until the end of July.
Grape cultivation is widespread in a number of wilayats of the Sultanate of Oman especially in the mountainous areas where moderate temperatures prevail in summer as grapes grow in low temperatures in winter and moderate temperatures in summer.
Dr Qais bin Saif al Maawali, Director of the Agricultural Development Department at the Directorate of Agriculture and Water Resources in the Al Sharqiyah North Governorate, said that grape cultivation exists in the governorates of Dhofar, Al Dhahirah, Al Dakhiliyah, Al Batinah North, Al Batinah South, Al Sharqiyah North and Al Sharqiyah South. The total area cultivated with grapes in the Sultanate of Oman is approximately 200 acres and the production is estimated at 1,000 tonnes which make up 4.2 per cent of local consumption estimated at 24,000 tonnes annually with an estimated economic return of RO 1.5 million.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources attaches a special attention to developing grape cultivation across the country. The ministry targets to set up 10 model grape farms in the Wilayat of Ibra in the Al Sharqiyah North Governorate with a total acreage of 100 acres. This is in addition to a project to develop grape cultivation and production in the Sultanate of Oman funded by the Agricultural and Fisheries Development Fund. The project aims to establish 25 economic grape farms in different governorates of the Sultanate of Oman with a total area of 25 acres in addition to establishing two gene banks for the grape in the Al Dakhiliyah and Al Batinah North governorates, the official said.
The total area of grape in Al Sharqiyah North Governorate is estimated at 27 acres according to last year’s data. Al Rawdah village in the Niyabat of Samad Al Shaan in the Wilayat of Al Mudhaibi is the largest areas of grape cultivation in the governorate with a total area of 10 acres cultivated in 2023, Al Maawali said, adding that the figures show an increase in the grape-cultivated area in Al Sharqiyah North Governorate in the current season with 27 acres compared to 8 acres in 2012, with a growth rate of 237 per cent which reflects the efforts made to develop the agricultural and economic sectors in Al Sharqiyah North Governorate. — ONA
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