تحديات التنمية الزراعية في ولاية السويق-سلطنة عمان : دراسة ميدانية على عينة من المزارعين

Abstract EN

This study aims to analyze the obstacles and challenges which face the agricultural development in the Wilayat of A’Suwaiq.

In addition, the study also proposes solutions to agricultural development problems, based on the visions of farmers in the study area.

To achieve these objectives, the study relied on the analytical approach to analyze the data derived from reports, agricultural and demographic censuses, and the previous publications and studies related to the subject of the research.

The quantitative and qualitative approach has also been used in the field study which was based on four tools: observation, statistical questionnaire applied to 241 farmers, in-depth interviews, and group discussions (FGD).

The most important results of the study are that about 87% of the agricultural holders are males, and more than half of the study sample are with intermediate and university education.

The most notable natural challenge facing the agricultural development in the wilayat of A’Suwaiq is found to be the decrease of water sources, due to the continuous decrease in water resources and lack of rainfall, as well as the problem of water salinization.

Moreover, the most important human challenges are found to be expatriate labor and their lack to the sense of responsibility and belonging to the land, lack of outlets for marketing agricultural products, lack of financial support, and the scarcity of Omani labor wishing to work in the agricultural sector.

The study's proposals to improve the wilayat’s agricultural development have therefore focused on providing solutions to these natural and human problems, taking into account their local aspects.

The study also highlighted the importance of agriculture in enhancing food security through reliance on the domestic product instead of imports.

The study recommended the need for intensive care of water resources in the wilayat of A’Suwaiq and to monitor their quality and validity for agriculture, beside reducing the behaviors and actions that are wrong and illegal.

Furthermore, the study also recommended the reopening of agricultural marketing centers in the wilayat, adopted for some years by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, and also the need to find mechanisms and ways to preserve agriculture and inherit it to future generations in order to preserve the agricultural heritage and promote social and cultural values in support of agricultural work.

This study presents the second part of the scientific results of a research project conducted in the Department of Geography of Sultan Qaboos University about the agriculture in Wilayat of A’Suwaiq, where the first part of the results was published in another scientific paper.