Muscat – Date production increased 2.2 per cent from 366,383 tonnes in 2020 to 374,341 tonnes by the end of 2021.

Data released in the National Centre for Statistics and Information’s 2021 Statistical Yearbook showed that the governorate of Dakhliyah produced the highest quantity of dates (89,379 tonnes), followed by North Batinah (57,399 tonnes), South Batinah (56,351 tonnes) and North Sharqiyah (52,721 tonnes).

Date production in Dhahirah reached 45,685 tonnes, 29,635 tonnes in South Sharqiyah, 18,472 tonnes in Buraimi, 13,215 tonnes in Muscat, 6,212 tonnes in Musandam, 5,140 tonnes in Dhofar and 132 tonnes in Al Wusta.

The Million Date Palm Plantation Project was initiated in 2017 to increase production of dates and enhance self- sufficiency in food.
The project came in response to Royal Directives of the late Sultan Qaboos bin Said, based on the importance of date palms in achieving food security in the sultanate, besides its historical significance.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources (MAFWR) has urged Omani farmers to grow dates to support the project.

“The ministry has set some conditions for Omani farmers to benefit from the project financed by the Agricultural and Fisheries Development Fund to grow date palms,” an official of MAFWR said.

“The farmer must be an Omani and the area of land cultivated should not be less than one acre,” he said, adding that, “the farmer must provide a permanent source of irrigation, and the soil of the farm should be suitable for cultivation. He must also use the seedlings provided by the ministry.”