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The investment pillar, within the pillars of the Food Security Laboratory 2023, discussed the establishment of model investment fields for grapes in the Wilayat of Ibra in the North Al Sharqiyah Governorate, and a model investment farm for grapes with an area of 100 acres was approved. Investment in grape cultivation and production contributes to providing job opportunities for farmers and workers in rural areas, and thus improves economic and social conditions in those areas. It also enhances food security and reduces the Sultanate of Oman’s dependence on imports of agricultural products.

Regarding the nature of the project, Eng. Salem bin Saud Al Kindi, Director General of Agricultural Wealth and Water Resources in North Al Sharqiyah Governorate, tells us: The project is a model investment farm for grapes with an area of 100 acres and is divided into 11 plots (each plot is 5 acres in area) with one of the plots allocated with an area of (5 acres). ) for service facilities (for agricultural tourism projects and in cooperation with Janaen Company) from the total area of the site approved by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning, and allocating space for facilities and needs (workers’ housing, administrative offices, post-harvest deliberation rooms, corridors, and other needs).

Al-Kindi continued: The fields are managed by a number of farmers specialized in grape cultivation, and good agricultural practices and modern techniques for agriculture and production are applied.
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Al-Kindi stated: It was agreed in the first phase to dig an exploration well to determine the quantities of water present, level the site, conduct chemical and physical analysis of the farm’s soil, and announce the sites on the development platform and select the project’s beneficiaries.
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Regarding the second phase, he said: The farms will be fenced, electricity will be connected, wells will be drilled, water tanks will be installed, and irrigation network systems will be installed.
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In the third phase, work will be done: installing the breeding system (the trellis), selecting varieties, producing and propagating grape seedlings and cultivation, and training beneficiaries on the job on the basics of agriculture, breeding, propagation and handling of grapes.

Regarding how to market, Al-Kindi explained: A marketing guidance program will be prepared that deals with post-harvest operations, the best ways to deal with the final production of grapes, packing and preservation methods, and the provision of containers and cartons for marketing the grapes with the marketing identity of the approved Omani grapes printed on them, as well as the implementation of a grape festival in cooperation with the Office of the Governor of North Al Sharqiyah. .