Sultanate of Oman SARDS 2040 Government of the Sultanate of Oman Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development Strategy towards 2040 SARDS 2040 “Unlocking the potential of agriculture and rural development for the well-being of the people of the Sultanate of Oman” Final October 2016 Sultanate of Oman SARDS 2040 Sultanate of Oman SARDS 2040 Table of Contents Table of Contents ................................................................................................... i List of Figures ....................................................................................................... iv List of Tables ........................................................................................................ iv List of Boxes ......................................................................................................... iv Foreword ............................................................................................................... v Abbreviations and Acronyms ................................................................................ vi Executive Summary ............................................................................................ viii 1. Introduction ..................................................................................................... 1 2. The Broader Context ....................................................................................... 3 2.1. Socio-demographic Dynamics ............................................................................ 3 2.2. Economic Growth ............................................................................................... 3 2.3. International Trade ............................................................................................. 4 2.4. Environmental Sustainability .............................................................................. 5 2.5. Food and Nutrition Security ................................................................................ 6 2.6. Concluding Remarks .......................................................................................... 6 3. Agriculture and Rural Sector ........................................................................... 8 3.1. Agriculture in the Economy ................................................................................. 8 3.1.1.Agriculture as a Whole .......................................................................................... 8 3.1.2.Crop Sector ......................................................................................................... 11 3.1.3.Livestock Sector .................................................................................................. 14 3.2. Agriculture and the Environment ...................................................................... 16 3.2.1.Water Management in Agriculture ....................................................................... 16 3.2.2.Land Management in Agriculture ........................................................................ 17 3.2.3.Impact of Agriculture on the Environment ........................................................... 18 3.2.4.Climate Change and Agriculture ......................................................................... 19 3.3. Rural Economy ................................................................................................. 19 3.4. Concluding Remarks ........................................................................................ 21 4. Institutions and Policies ................................................................................ 22 4.1. Agricultural Institutional and Regulatory Context .............................................. 22 4.1.1.Main Stakeholders and Institutional Organization ............................................... 22 4.1.2.Agricultural Regulations ...................................................................................... 22 4.1.3.Incentives ............................................................................................................ 25 4.1.4.Agriculture-related Strategies .............................................................................. 25 4.2. Other Policy Frameworks ................................................................................. 27 4.2.1.Broader Policy Frameworks ................................................................................ 27 4.2.2.Other Sector or Cross-sector Policy Frameworks ............................................... 28 4.3. Concluding Remarks ........................................................................................ 31 5. SARDS 2040 Structure ................................................................................. 33 i Sultanate of Oman SARDS 2040 5.1. Background ...................................................................................................... 33 5.2. Principles .......................................................................................................... 34 5.3. Rationale .......................................................................................................... 36 5.4. Vision ................................................................................................................ 38 5.5. Pillars ................................................................................................................ 38 5.6. Outcomes and Intermediate Outcomes ............................................................ 40 6. SARDS 2040 Interventions and Expected Results ....................................... 43 6.1. Outcome 1 – Crop Sector Competitiveness Increased .................................... 43 IO 1.1 – Technical and organizational innovations promoted, high-value varieties developed, crop yield and nutritional quality increased ................................................ 43 IO 1.2 – Post-harvest losses reduced, product market quality improved, product value- added developed and market opportunities enhanced ................................................ 45 IO 1.3 – Stringent food safety and biosecurity measures for crop products enforced . 47 6.2. Outcome 2 – Livestock Sector Competitiveness Increased ............................. 48 IO 2.1 – A more productive, market-oriented and sustainable red meat and dairy industry developed ....................................................................................................... 48 IO 2.2 – National poultry industry competitiveness and sustainability enhanced ......... 52 IO 2.3 – Apiculture practices and technologies, organization of producers, value- addition and marketing enhanced ................................................................................ 53 IO 2.4 – Stringent food safety and biosecurity measures for animals and animal products enforced ........................................................................................................ 55 6.3. Outcome 3 – Sustainable Management of Natural Resources in Agriculture Enhanced ................................................................................................................. 57 IO 3.1 – Income per unit of water used in agriculture maximized ................................ 57 IO 3.2 – Capture, re-use and storage capacity of water to agriculture increased ........ 60 IO 3.3 – Soil management improved ............................................................................ 61 IO 3.4 – Agrobiodiversity conserved ............................................................................ 62 6.4. Outcome 4 – Resilience of Agriculture and Rural Livelihoods Improved .......... 63 IO 4.1 – Climate change adaptation and natural disaster risk management integrated into agricultural and rural development policy, investment and programmes .............. 64 IO 4.2 – Climate change mitigation and agricultural carbon footprint improved ........... 65 6.5. Outcome 5 – Rural Communities Empowered and Rural Livelihood Opportunities Improved ............................................................................................ 67 IO 5.1– Rural economic activities increased and diversified ........................................ 68 IO 5.2 – Local cultural heritage and traditional social values preserved and valued ... 71 6.6. Outcome 6 – Enabling Institutional Environment for Agriculture and Rural Development Strengthened ...................................................................................... 72 IO 6.1 – Institutional and regulatory framework enhanced and enforced ..................... 73 IO 6.2 – Economic environment enhanced .................................................................. 74 IO 6.3 – Provision of inclusive financial services improved .......................................... 75 IO 6.4 – Knowledge base for agriculture and rural development strengthened ........... 77 IO 6.5 – An effective innovation system for a competitive and sustainable agriculture implemented ................................................................................................................. 79 IO 6.6 – Social support to agriculture and rural development enhanced ..................... 81 7. SARDS 2040 Results Framework ................................................................. 83 7.1. Purpose of the Results Framework .................................................................. 83 7.2. Results Framework Development .................................................................... 84 7.3. Results Framework Structure