By Zainab Al Nassri/ONA — MUSCAT: May 3 - Tens of thousands of food shipments enter or exit the Sultanate every day and there are internationally-agreed rules for inspecting food products at border points by testing samples as it is impossible to test a whole consignment, and if it turns out that one or two samples do not conform with the standards it doesn’t mean that tens of thousands of shipments are similarly defective.
This was stated by Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries Dr Fuad bin Jaafar al Sajwani in the Majlis Ash’shura during the 15th regular session.
Regarding UAE’s ban on entry of some Omani agricultural products, Dr Sajwani said that this incident may take place in any country at any time as the Sultanate handles around 450,000 tonnes of farm products. Each single year, we have tens of thousands of agricultural, fish and animal consignments.
“The meeting between officials at the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and UAE Ambassador to the Sultanate has been positive and we have shown the remarks of the ministry. We also requested a list of the consignments in which the pesticide residues were more than the allowed limits, but till now no response has been received. We need to know the farm from which such consignment has been exported and the people who used the pesticides to take necessary action against them,” he added.
The minister urged agricultural land owners who produce crops in different governorates to have an eye on the practices used by expatriate workers in their farmers and it is their duty to prevent any such practices that harm the agricultural process.
He also said that as many as 19,000 food samples were collected and tested last year, however the ministry cannot monitor thousands of farms all over the Sultanate. The problem came out when the farm owners left their farms for expatriate manpower without keeping tab over the
way they use pesticides, waste water or spoil the soil.
Giving details of the sector’s contribution to the GDP, the minister said it has reached 2.1 per cent by the end of September 2016 as against 1.3 per cent in 2011.
The meeting was chaired by Shaikh Khalid bin Hilal al Maawali, Chairman of Majlis Ash’shura.
The minister said the two sectors accounted for 2.8 per cent of the non-oil local production during the same period. Dr Sajwani said his ministry was keen on promoting these sectors through local investments and training of nationals in fishing and farming.
He dwelt on seven main indicators: performance of agriculture and fisheries, assessment of fisheries sector, food production, animal wealth, Agricultural and Fish Development Fund, Public Authority for Stores and Food Reserve, and foreign agricultural investments.
The minister said the Sultanate ranks second at the Arab level and sixth at the international level in food security, according to the 2016 Global Food Security Index. Oman was recognised for its low agricultural customs fees, and food safety, he said.
The sector also contributed to foreign trade as the value of fisheries exports hit RO 294 million by 2016-end. Locally, the total food consumption reached 35.3 per cent in the same year.
He said the Fish Aquaculture Strategy 2011-2040 aims to produce 200,000 tonnes of fish and offer 10,000 jobs to the nationals.
Dr Sajwani said there are 22 fishing ports serving 48,000 fishermen and more than 20,000 boats and ships supplying the local markets with 280,000 tonnes of marine wealth in 2016.
“The ministry has invited tenders from the private sector for developing Taqah port, including the establishment of infrastructure, sales outlets, commercial and tourist zones as well as other services,” he said.
According to Dr Sajwani, illegal expatriate manpower is one of the most serious challenges facing the government. Many are resorting to illegal fishing, creating unfair competition, and affecting the nationals who depend on the profession for their livelihood.
Expats, he said, resort to overfishing, and use illegal/ banned fishing equipment which damage the fishery traps. On members’ queries on the need for support to farmers, he said the ministry provides support based on specifications. “By the end of 2016, 1,552 farms (6,548 acres) were provided with state-of-the-art irrigation systems.”
In the Eighth Five Year Plan (2011-2015), allocation for these technologies stood at RO 4.6 million.
Farms struggling with high water salinity have been supported by desalination units, whose number currently stands at 144.
Dr Sajwani said 1,370 acres of agricultural land was changed for non-agriculture usage in 2016, mostly in Batinah North and South.
On the quality and safety of food products, he said it was one of the ministry’s “top priorities”. Inspections have been intensified at the borders to ensure all imports are safe for human consumption.
The issue of recycling was also discussed. “Dates go through different recycling processes. Recycled dates account for 40 per cent of the annual dates production, which reached 345,000 tonnes last year,” he said.
The ministry, he said, makes all efforts to establish factories for using every part of palms, including fronds, to generate more revenue.
Dr Sajwani said 120,000 expatriates are working in agricultural sector and 5,000 in bee-keeping. While a majority of them have a licence from authorities, they are not registered as commercial activities.
“However, the ministry coordinates with parties concerned to review the recruitment of foreign manpower in the sector,” he said.
Members of the council proposed a number of suggestions to develop agriculture and fisheries’ sectors. They sought clarification on recent news about contaminated food products being exported to the neighbouring countries.
The minister confirmed that the Sultanate has an agreement with those countries to be informed in case of violations. Yet, no reply on details related to the incident was reported to the ministry.
“We deal with thousands of goods and loads every day. If there are any violations, they don’t exceed one per cent. Farm owners should keep a watch on expat workers, many of whom are causing these problems,” he replied. The session continues today.
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