New dairy farm could create 3,000 jobs

MORNING MINUTE MUSCAT: Oman’s new dairy farm could generate not just employment for Omanis, but selfsufficiency in food for the nation, as well.

Plans are underway to set up a new dairy farm in Buraimi, as per the Sultanate’s new Tanfeedh initiative to revitalise and diversify the nation’s economy.

Named the Al Mazoon farms, this integrated dairy farm will initially have 4,000 cows and slowly expand to 25,000 animals over a period of 10 years.

“This farm is supposed to produce 89 million litres of milk by 2020, and 202 million litres of milk by 2026,” said Mustafa Al Riyami, Coordination and Follow-up Specialist for the Public Authority for Stores and Food Reserves.

“By 2020, we’ll have a selfsufficiency of 72 per cent, and by 2026, we’ll be at 87 per cent self- will be the number of animals at the farm from a modest start over a period of 10 years sufficiency,” he added. “By 2040, we’ll be at 135 per cent self-sufficiency, which means we can store and export some of what we produce. The strategic view for this is that we are trying to achieve food security for Oman.”

This plan was conceived when the semi-government food security agency, the Oman Food Investment Holding Company, was founded in 2014.

“If we are planning to start producing by 2020, we need to start construction of the farm by 2018,” he said.