Oman makes good progress in food security

Muscat: Availability of food, and the ability to bear the cost of food, as well as the quality and safety are the main pillars of food security in the Sultanate.
These three constitute the pillars of Oman National Food Security Strategy for 2010 to 2020.
As per the Public Authority for Stores and Food Reserve (PASFR) report on food security, the Sultanate is one of the food secure countries, in terms of the ability to get food despite its high reliance on imports and fluctuation in prices.
The report also pointed out that the Sultanate has made remarkable progress in some initiatives of its food security strategy, especially those related to agriculture, fisheries, GDP (gross domestic product) levels, research and development and the improvement of the supply chain.
The Sultanate currently secures about 60 per cent of its food needs from international markets. Growing demand for food is expected to continue to pressure self-sufficiency rates. Population growth, recent salary increments, along with a growing number of visitors, is expected to change consumption patterns.
The Sultanate’s food self-sufficiency rate stood at 41.3 per cent in 2014 as the Sultanate produced 68 per cent of its fruits and vegetable needs, 2 per cent of farm products, 58 per cent of red meat, 33 per cent of poultry, 51 per cent of milk, 15 per cent of egg and 215 per cent of fish.
While seeking to ensure food security, the Sultanate also faces several challenges, the most important of which is the lack of fertile land and limited irrigation water.
The total size of the Sultanate is 309,500 square kilometres, of which 3 per cent is white land, 82 per cent is deserts and wadis,
15 per cent is made up of mountains and 5.7 per cent is agricultural land.
About 90 per cent of water resources are used for irrigation, 8.5 per cent for domestic use and about 1.5 per cent for
industrial use.
The rain level is not more than 80 millimetres per year, of which 80 per cent evaporates, 6 per cent goes to sea and the desert and only 14 per cent is absorbed by the soil.
The challenges also include excessive loss of food production; about 30 per cent of the total agricultural production, while as per the food security strategy, it should not exceed 15 per cent by 2020.
Other challenges include growth in food-related diseases despite the sincere efforts being made to control such diseases.
The PASFR has completed its report on food security in Oman.
The report was prepared, in association with a reputed house—The Economist magazine of United Kingdom—and in collaboration with several stakeholders, namely the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, in addition to the Royal Oman Police (ROP), the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) and the Oman Foods Investment Holding Company.