Focus on agriculture and fisheries sustainability
MUSCAT: The 2nd National Conference on Agriculture and Fisheries Research (Research for Sustainable Development), organized by the College of Agricultural & Marine Sciences at Sultan Qaboos University, in association with the Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries commenced on Monday at the university under the auspices of Rashid bin Salim al Masroori, Chairman of the Public Authority for Stores and Food Reserve.
The conference seeks to foster the understanding of fundamental principles and the multi-disciplinary context of agriculture and fisheries sustainability; and to provide a unique platform for exchange of ideas and experiences among researchers, experts and policy makers in the field and jointly identifying major issues that hinder conservation and sustainable use of agriculture and fisheries resources. The event also aims to suggest effective management options to deal with the identified issues; and to create a sense of community that facilitates mutual learning and networking.
The conference consists of interdisciplinary oral and poster presentations by both scholars and experts and is the national forum for the presentation of research results and development activities in the field of agriculture and fisheries. The themes of the conference include agriculture and livestock research; fisheries research; and crosscutting area.
The topics that comes under cross cutting area include climate change and food security, food processing, safety quality and nutrition, markets structures and operations, training and capacity development, etc.
The conference brings together scientists, specialists, students and participants from the public and private sectors as well as NGOs and civil societies.
Dr Rashid al Yahyai, the Dean of the College of Agricultural & Marine Sciences, said that around 200 experts are attending the conference that features 137 paper and poster presentations. In the opening ceremony, Saleh Mohammed al Shanfari, CEO of Oman Food Investment Holding Company (OFIC), gave the keynote address on “Research, innovation and entrepreneurship for food security”.
He said that OFIC, a state-ownedenterprise, is mandated to promote Oman’s food security, through partnerships with government agencies, private operators and investors.
OFIC aims to boost Oman’s food security and economic well-being by investing in domestic and international food projects in partnership with food companies, investors and other stakeholders. Al Shanfari, underscored the need for meaningful partnership between the academic and the industry and effective technology transfer in promoting food security in the Sultanate.