Bumper wheat harvest brings cheers to farmers in Oman

Muscat: This year’s wheat harvest season has brought joy to farmers, owing to an excellent yield, which will bring them better economic returns.

Considered a crop of critical importance in the country, because of its vital role towards food security, wheat in Oman is harvested by modern methods. Strains of wheat that are harvested include those that have been specially adapted to the arid and harsh desert climate found in some areas.

The result of using more resistant varieties of crops is a manifold increase in wheat productivity over the past few years. While young wheat plants are characteristically green, they are ready for harvesting when they turn golden-brown.

Wheat is primarily turned into flour, which can be used to make breads, pasta, biscuits, and other foods essential to a human diet.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources has devoted special attention towards wheat, both in terms of assigning priority towards food security, and engaging with specialists who conduct research on developing more heat and drought resistant versions of the grain.

Farmers’ opinions are often sought while selecting new species of wheat, so as to understand the problems they face with current variants.

One of the places wheat is abundantly harvested is the Governorate of Al Dakhiliyah, where farmers in Nizwa and other areas have begun gathering this year’s crop. Rainfall experienced previously has also led to an abundance of water, which has allowed for more land to be used for agricultural activity.

Farmers stop irrigating their grain about three weeks before the harvest process begins. The stalks are then cut off from the rest of the plant, and allowed to dry and tied together in bundles.

A practice locally called ‘trampling’, this used to be done by hand, although it has now been mechanised, after the ministry provided wheat growers with the right equipment.

Omani wheat is considered one of the finest in the region, since it underwent modification to suit the climatic and growing conditions in the Middle East.

Wheat production averages at about one and a half tonnes per feddan (approximately the same as an acre of land), and allows farmers to make a profit, after being sold at between 400 to 600 baisas per kg.

A key area in the production of wheat is Hail Farq, in the Wilayat of Nizwa, where nearly 170 acres of land have been dedicated to wheat cultivation, and a yield of 260 tonnes is expected.