Thursday 26 / December / 2024
Muscat: An executive plan supervised by the National Employment Programme has been signed for an initiative aimed at employing treated water in agricultural projects. This initiative will be circulated to all governorates of the Sultanate of Oman during the coming periods.
The plan was signed by: His Excellency Dr. Mahad bin Saeed Baawin, Minister of Labour and General Supervisor of the National Employment Programme, His Excellency Dr. Saud bin Hammoud Al Habsi, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources, His Excellency Dr. Khalfan bin Saeed Al Shuaili, Minister of Housing and Urban Planning, and Engineer Hilal bin Muhammad Al Ghaithi, Director General of Energy In the Public Services Regulatory Authority, and Qais bin Saud Al-Zakwani, CEO of Namaa Water Services Company.
The initiative aims to allow the investment of treated water in innovative agricultural projects that contribute to achieving local food security, supporting and promoting emerging companies in the field of agriculture, stimulating agricultural innovation plans to build a strong and sustainable economy, and encouraging entrepreneurs and job seekers to manage food security projects in the Sultanate of Oman.
The implementation plan will develop and encourage various agricultural activities and sustainable agriculture, utilise treated water from waste, promote innovation and use new technology in the agricultural sector, and bridge gaps in supply chains by investing in local agricultural products and ensuring easy access to consumers.
This is in addition to providing job opportunities for the people of the country, encouraging small and medium enterprises to invest in this sector, and focusing on investing in crops necessary for food security to achieve sustainable development in this vital sector.
In the first phase of this implementation plan for the initiative, investment land will be provided in the Wilayat of Al Amerat on which agricultural projects will be built. This initiative will be circulated to all governorates of the Sultanate of Oman during the coming periods.
By providing an area of 10 acres for each small and medium investment company, the initiative will include allocating places to develop and encourage agricultural activities and sustainable agriculture, establish centers for innovation and technology in the agricultural sector, and provide the necessary support and resources for farmers, agricultural innovators and emerging companies in this sector.
The initiative will provide a variety of services, including marketing and promotion of projects and their products, helping institutions to come up with new types of products or new areas of activity, and providing technical and technical support, guidance, training, research and development to all institutions working on these projects. This is in addition to providing the spaces and infrastructure necessary to establish various projects, linking with existing projects, the business sector and financing in various sectors in the Sultanate of Oman, as well as continuous follow-up and support and provision of various aspects of support for the development and success of all projects.
Engineer Azhar bin Ahmed Al-Kindi, Technical Director of the National Employment Program, confirmed that this national initiative is among the projects and initiatives of the economic track in the program, which aims to study all supply chains and ICV for all development sectors with the aim of finding scientific and practical solutions to invest in these sectors in order to achieve sustainable development. It aims to provide job opportunities for national cadres and encourage all small and medium enterprises in the Sultanate of Oman to invest and use modern technology in all sectors.
He pointed out that one of the most important expected results from the establishment of agricultural projects in this initiative is the provision of large job opportunities for job seekers and those interested in the agricultural aspect in the Sultanate of Oman, and the establishment of specialised areas for contractual cultivation of some crops that will be managed by small and medium enterprises as well as warehouses for agricultural products to ensure continuous crops during all months of the year, raising the percentage of investment in the field of food security, revitalising the manufacturing sector by attracting transformative factories, agricultural supplies factories and specialised agricultural companies, as well as attracting agricultural technologies by bringing modern technology used in the agricultural sector and related industries.
