This week alone, two agreements have been signed bringing investment to the poultry industry in the Sultanate of Oman.
Both of these latest projects involve the development of poultry breeding facilities, and aim to enhance food security in Oman by raising self-sufficiency in resources for the poultry supply chain, and reducing reliance on imports.
The first of the deals was agreed upon in Muscat this week by Oman-based Osool Poultry Company with genetics company Aviagen (Ross), reports Times of Oman.
With an investment of 10 million Omani rial (OMR; US$26 million), the project will deliver fertilized eggs, day-old chicks, and other poultry products.
It will enable Osool Poultry to increase its annual capacity from the current 150 million eggs. Furthermore, the firm sees potential to reduce the risks of bringing in disease on imported eggs and chicks, and overcoming frequent logistical issues.
Under the agreement, technical support to set up and run the project will be provided by Aviagen.
Participating in the deal signing were Dr. Hadi Mohsen Al Lawati (CEO of Osool Company), and Bulent Tanyildizi (Aviagen Business Manager for the Middle East and North Africa region).
Development of the Sultanate’s poultry industry is being overseen by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Water Resources. As well as improving Oman’s food security, the ministry sees these investments as opportunities to attract and train Omani professionals in the poultry industry.
In late 2020, Osool Poultry Company announced production would soon commence at its new poultry facility, which was the first hatchery in Oman.
A new broiler breeder and hatchery venture was announced by the same firm in 2016.
Poultry breeder investment in northwest Oman
The Sultanate’s most recent poultry project is a breeder farm in Buraimi.
According to Muscat Daily, this involves Royal Poultry Farms, the agriculture ministry, and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning.
With an investment of OMR3 million, the new facility will have an output of more than six million chickens per year on a site covering 116 hectares (286 acres).
Director General for agriculture in Buraimi governorate said that this investment project is one of more than 20 worth OMR5 million agreed so far this year. He too stressed that it will contribute to Oman’s food security, and making the nation’s farming more sustainable.
Oman’s chicken meat production (fresh and chilled) amounted to around 6,810 metric tons, according to the statistics arm of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, FAOstat. This was the figure in 2022 — the most recent year for which statistics have been published — and it represented a year-on-year increase of 3.7%.
The population of Oman in 2022 was almost 4.6 million, according to the World Bank.
