Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development Strategy towards 2040 - SARDS 2040.

This Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development Strategy towards 2040 is a nationwide sectoral document aiming at providing strategic and programmatic guidance to policy and investment in the Omani agriculture and rural sector. The Strategy consists of a comprehensive set of measures needed to ensure that future agricultural and rural development activities are economically viable and environmentally sustainable, thus contributing to the overall well-being of the Omani people to achieve the Vision of a sustainable and profitable agriculture and rural sector contributing to the achievement of food security and Oman’s overall development objectives. The document consists of 4 pillars (1) enhancement of economic competitiveness of agriculture; (2) rural development to foster the local economy by building on synergies between agriculture and other sectors, such as industry and tourism, and empowering local communities; (3) environmental sustainability that is an imperative in a context characterized by extreme natural resource scarcity and high vulnerability to climate change; and (4) institutional framework to maximize the impact of interventions carried out under the other three.
The Strategy has a strong focus on developing the agricultural sector to improve its productivity and sustainability. To achieve this target the main interventions have to aim to (i) strengthen the institutional environment for agriculture and rural development; (ii) promote technical and organizational innovations, develop high-value varieties, and increase crop yield and nutritional quality; (iii) reduce post-harvest losses; (iv) develop a more productive, market-oriented and sustainable ragricultural industry; (v) enhance the poultry industry competitiveness and sustainability; (vi) enhance apiculture practices and technologies, organization of producers, value addition, and marketing; (vii) expand and further develop commercial farms; (viii) transform small-scale, diversified holdings, making them more efficient and market-oriented; (ix) support the multi-functional traditional agriculture that provides public goods (landscapes, biodiversity, cultural values, and identity); and (x) rehabilitate the rangelands, making the management of pastoral systems more sustainable and linking animal husbandry to the market.
The document encourages the implementation of stringent food safety and biosecurity measures for crop products, as well as for animals and animal products. Furthermore, the best opportunity for addressing food security is to prevent animal-source food losses and waste and improve commercialization, an area where large gains are possible through improved infrastructure and investment in processing capacities. Functional roads, large modern logistics infrastructure (e.g., collecting centers, cold chain facilities, transport infrastructure, ports, etc.), unique genetic resources, and the existence of natural pastures offer important opportunities to reach the country’s livestock potential.
To protect the environment, it is deemed necessary to (i) enhance the sustainable management of natural resources in agriculture; (ii) increase capture, re-use and storage capacity of water for agriculture; (iii) make farming practices more sustainable, specifically, the use of natural resources, primarily water; (iv) improve the resilience of agriculture and rural livelihoods to climate change and natural disasters.
For more inclusive economic and social growth, rural communities should be empowered and rural livelihood opportunities improved, with a focus on youth and women. Furthermore, the development and diversification of farm and non-farm economic activities in rural areas are necessary to increase income generation and employment opportunities.