Declining date production has the potential to negatively impact Oman’s food security strategy, an agricultural expert has warned. Dr Rashid Abdullah al Yahyai, who is currently a Member of the Majlis Addawla, also lamented slumping date exports which, he said, was a reflection of the gradual decline of this once mainstay food crop as a source of nutrition and sustenance.

Addressing delegates at an economic forum held here recently, Dr Al Yahyai said date exports had fallen from a norm of 4 per cent of total annual domestic production to around one per cent presently. “For a country that is known for its abundance of the date crop, we exported around 1,800 tonnes of dates out of a total yield of around 270,000 tonnes. Whereas in the past, exports represented 4 per cent of total production, it’s down to 1 per cent today,” he said.

Presenting on the theme, ‘Available Alternatives for Food Security’, the expert made a strong plea for the inclusion of dates in the country’s food security strategy. Local crops provide the most important guarantee of food security, he said, noting that dates account for around 80 per cent of the Sultanate’s total agricultural output.

“Oman has around eight million date palms currently under cultivation, with plans under way for the planting of another one million more trees. We are among the largest producers of dates in the world but, of late, output has been declining on account of a number of factors, including climate change. Also, of the 250 different types of dates that can be cultivated in Oman, our focus is only on 10 varieties,” he said.

In particular, Dr Al Yahyai bemoaned the declining trend in date exports which, he said, had an impact on date farmers. Of the estimated 1,800 tonnes of dried dates exported annually, roughly half was shipped to India. Saudi Arabia and the United Arabia Emirates received a combined 40 per cent share, while the remainder was exported to markets in Europe. India, a traditional destination for dried Omani dates, was itself gradually achieving self-sufficiency in date production, thus requiring the Sultanate to diversify its export market base, he said.

Another factor that is hurting the date farming sector is the comparatively low cost of Omani export dates, he said. While Pakistani dates cost as much as $ 600 per tonne, and Algerian dates as much as $ 2,000 per tonne, Omani dates in contrast fetched a mere $ 290 per tonne in export markets, he said. Also weighing on the sector is the lack of adequate manpower, Dr Al Yahyai said.

“Date farming is usually hard work, so it’s not surprising that many people prefer cultivating mangoes and other fruit crops because they are not labour intensive. Indigenous manpower is inadequate in this sector,” he said. Falling consumption and the limited number of date processing factories (a total of five at present) were other shortcomings ailing the industry, he added.