Sugarcane harvest begins in Manah with expected production of 9 tonnes

Manah: Farmers in the Wilayat of Manah in the Governorate of A’Dakhiliyah have begun harvesting the sugarcane crop for this year (2024).

It is one of the important agricultural crops that constitute an important agricultural source and enhance food security.

The Wilayat of Manah is famous for sugarcane cultivation, in addition to other wilayats in the Sultanate of Oman.

Commenting on this important agricultural harvest season, Mohammed Harib Al Bahlani, Director of the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources in the Wilayat of Manah, said that farmers in the Wilayat of Manah are keen on continuing the cultivation of the sugarcane crop, as it represents an important economic return for them. Sugarcane enjoys a great demand from all segments of society, especially from the owners of Omani “halwa” factories, he added.

He explained that the area planted with sugarcane in the Wilayat of Manah this year (2024) amounted to 15 acres (61 farms), with an expected production of 9 tonnes of brown sugar, compared to last year, whose production reached 7 tonnes.

Al Bahlani pointed out that sugarcane cultivation takes place between the months of February and March of each year. Specialists from the department are keen to pay field visits and meet farmers from the beginning of the season until its end, to provide all instructions and directives that include preparing the land, method of fertilisation, watering, and spraying agricultural diseases and pests, until the crop is harvested after a full year.

For his part, Al Yakdhan Khalaf Al Masrouri, owner of Sugarcane Press Extractor in the Wilayat of Manah, said that he has begun receiving this season’s sugarcane crop in varying quantities. Work continues in the press extractor from the beginning of the harvest until its. Omani competencies operate the sugarcane press extractor using modern equipment that made it easy to complete the work in a short time.

He added that the press extractor receives tons of sugarcane every year from within the Wilayat of Manah, and from neighboring wilayats as well, often during March.