Traditional farmers suffer as private companies flourish
‘There is a lack of motivation in this country and a fear of success. People do not fear failure, but success’
MUSCAT: Private companies are thriving in the Omani agriculture industry as traditional farmers are lagging behind.
Even as young Omanis are being encouraged to take part in the industry, social stigma may be culprit behind preventing economic growth.
“If you are not an employee with the government, then you are nothing. Farmers are looked down upon; this is our culture and the people’s way of thinking. That is why nobody wants to take an interest,” Mustafa Al Riyami, head of Coordination and Follow up at the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, said.
“There is a lack of motivation in this country and a fear of success. People do not fear failure, but success,” he added. Al Riyami narrated to the
the experience he had while approaching the government regarding a new project. “We found a way to produce oil from dates, which can be used for cars. The whole project was rejected. They have the same mindset as the people.”
Yahya Al Amri, one of the founders of the Farmers Committee in Jabel Akdhar, comes from a family of farmers. Al Amri’s father was a farmer, while he considers himself a simple villager. “I cannot speak on behalf of all farmers, but the biggest issue we face is the lack of water. One of the solutions is to have wells, which are owned by the government, but they are not big enough to support farms, just for personal and home use.
“This has recently become a bigger issue, but I remember my father struggling back in the 1980s,” Al Amri said.
Government support is much needed for traditional farmers to thrive. According to Al Amri, almost 90 per cent of all the produce grown in Jabel Akdhar is organic and free of pesticides, but without government approval to label the produce as such, they cannot market the produce as organic.
“There are many factors that prevent traditional farmers from prospering. There isn’t enough land to build greenhouses, and even if we did, there are seasons when produce sell. For example, pomegranate trees can grow up to seven metres tall. If we were to build a green house, we would build it at a height to accommodate the ideal tree size, which is four metres tall. In a way, we would have to limit its growth in the green house. Most of the land here is used for traditional farming, and even if we would use new techniques, we still won’t have enough water.”
Dr. Dawood Al Wahaibi, the chief executive officer of Five Oceans, and one of Tanfeedh’s manufacturing lab participants, believes that an attitude change in both farmers and young adults is what the agriculture sector needs to truly thrive.
“The difficulty in farmers adopting new methods of farming could stem from financing and its associated costs, including other complications, such as the ease of employment in the past. These days, another issue with farming has surfaced, such as finding good farming locations and the long waiting lists for land.”
“Young Omanis, the agriculture industry, and SMEs (small and medium enterprises) must be in a position to perform and produce quality crops suitable for the average household, as well as supply for the massive influx of tourists,” Al Wahaibi added.
According to him, a three month waiting period for production to reach peak is neither economical nor sustainable.
“Green houses are the biggest farm investments in the country. From one tomato plant you can yield a few kilograms over a period, but in a greenhouse you can yield tonnes of tomatoes throughout the year. Compared with open field farming, greenhouses are a far better investment for this country. These are some of the problems that have delayed the growth in the economy,” he stated.
A study conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries found that production jumped by 12 times when using greenhouses and water productivity also doubled.
The number of greenhouses in the Sultanate surged from 782 to 2,491 between 2001 and 2003. It further increased to 4,740 in 2010; reflecting a 40 per cent accumulated annual growth rate.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries’ Al Riyami noted that the number of greenhouses since 2010 have more than likely doubled, due to their structure making up for the lack of water.
Companies have now started to spring out of the agriculture industry through hydroponic and Aquaponic farming, which require no soil and less water. Farms, such as Al-Arfan Farms, Mazaya Argo and even companies like Urban Oasis Garden Systems, a personal homegardening Aquaponic company, have taken the initiative to invest in such a fruitful sector.
Ryan Blakesley, executive director of Urban Oasis, has been conducting research in Oman since 2013 and finally started his Aquaponic business just a few months ago. He explained that Aquaponics is the process of growing fish and plants together, to the benefit of both. Making full use of the byproducts of growing fish allows nutrients and organic fertiliser to be freely provided naturally for the plants. This replicates the processes found in nature and provides a fresh, organic alternative to traditional gardening.
“We were first drawn to Oman because of the big government initiatives aimed at increasing Aquaculture, or the large-scale growing of fish on a farm. But when we arrived, we noticed that though the government was working hard to develop this industry, there were no opportunities for the average person to enjoy these technologies themselves.”