Muscat: The Sultanate of Oman, represented by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources, on Wednesday hosted an annual meeting on technical coordination about a project to develop sustainable date palm production systems in Arab Gulf Cooperation (GCC) countries.
Held in cooperation with the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), the 26-30 January meeting was opened by Dr Saud Hamoud al Habsi, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources.
Dr Hamdan Salim al Wahaibi, Director-General of Agricultural and Livestock Research, said that the project’s implementation stems from the significance of the date palm sector which, he said, constitutes a historical and economic heritage.
The project, he added, caps GCC states’ collaboration to spur the growth of the date palm sector and augment its contribution to food security in the region.
Al Wahaibi affirmed that the agenda includes discussing accomplishments made during 2021, devising an executive plan for 2022 and revising the project’s priorities in a manner that serves the policies of GCC states in the forthcoming period. –ONA
