Muscat:- A contract was signed today to award a project for establishing the first camel cheese production factory in the Wilayat of Rakhyut, Governorate of Dhofar.
The step seeks to support economic development, empower rural women and enhance the value chain of dairy products.
The project is being implemented by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Being the outcome of cooperation between the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources, the project will be carried out with funding from Al Jisr charity foundation
The factory is set to start operations during the first quarter of 2026. It is envisaged to process quantities ranging from 500 litters to two tons of camel milk per day, with plans in place to gradually increase operational capacity to 5 tons by the end of the first year of operation, and later to more than 15 tons.
The factory's products will include the production of fresh and semi-hard cheeses, with future plans to produce hard cheese, condensed milk, milk desserts and ice cream.
In its first stage, the factory will empower 20 rural women from the Omani Women's Association in the Wilayat of Rakhyut, Dhofar Governorate. It will enable the women’s role in supporting the local food production sector, in addition to developing the production and marketing camel products.
The empowered women took part in capacity-building programmes and benefited from intensive workshops and training courses that honed their skills and raised their awareness about quality standards, food safety, finance, marketing and small business management.
The contract signing ceremony was held under the auspices of Dr. Ahmed Nasser Al Bakri, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources for Agriculture.
It's worth noting that Dhofar Governorate is a major camel habitat in the Sultanate of Oman. Statistics of the year 2023 show that Dhofar Governorate houses approximately 177,821 camels, making Dhofar a vital centre for the camel dairy industry.
