The Sultanate has achieved self-sufficiency in chicken eggs with 103 per cent and in chicken meat at 100 per cent.
Meanwhile, the other four main commodities that continued its upward trend of self-sufficiency are the paddy (rice) sector at eight per cent self-sufficiency, buffalo and beef meat around 2.3 per cent, tropical vegetables around 72 per cent and fish around 74 per cent.
The self-sufficiency achievement from 2022 to 2024 for the six main commodities contributing significantly to the country’s gross domestic product was mentioned by Minister of Primary Resources and Tourism Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Abdul Manaf bin Haji Metussin during the 21st Legislative Council yesterday.
The minister said, “Developing the food industry, namely the agriculture, fisheries and agrifood sectors in this country, requires a whole-of-government approach and whole-of-nation approach. This involves close cooperation between the government and private sectors. These aspects are also included in the Food Industry Roadmap, serving as a strategic guide in driving growth and increasing food sector revenues, specifically through manufacturing and productivity in the primary industry as well as processing and value added.”
He said, “The average output of the food sector, including agriculture and fisheries, has increased by around 41 per cent in the last three years, from BND525 million in 2017 to BND742 million per year.”
Regarding the perception of lack of progression in self-sufficiency in paddy (rice), he said, “It has increased from 4.8 per cent in 2017 to an average of eight per cent for 2022-2024. Insya Allah, with the commitment of the ministry, entrepreneurs, and farmers, the target of 12 per cent can be achieved in the next few years.”
He also added, “The ministry, through the Department of Agriculture and Agrifood, will implement three main initiatives in increasing the country’s paddy production to achieve the target. The first is by encouraging the use of high-yielding hybrid rice varieties such as Sembada188 hybrid rice and Yuan 158 rice.
“Second is by carrying out research and trials for the suitability of new rice varieties in irrigated and non-irrigated areas, and third, by increasing soil fertility through regenerative agriculture, while ensuring sustainable environmental conservation through the use of compost fertiliser.”
In the efforts of strengthening the country’s food security level, he said, “the ministry is faced with huge challenges such as acidic and limited land, unpredictable weather, and threat of disease as well as challenges in the food sector value chain ecosystem. Therefore, achieving self-sufficiency cannot be realised immediately, but requires a strategic and continuous approach to address these factors systematically and sustainably.” – James Kon
