Program to support seasonal rain-fed crops in Dhofar Governorate

Salalah: The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources is implementing an indicative program in the governorate to support seasonal rainy crops for the year 2024, targeting 40 cases in the various states where these crops are located, in addition to providing some types of seeds for cultivation in the mountains of Dhofar.

Engineer Radwan bin Abdullah Al Ibrahim, Director of the Agricultural Development Department at the General Directorate of Agricultural, Fisheries and Water Resources in Dhofar Governorate, said: Seasonal agriculture in the mountains and countryside of Dhofar Governorate, which was practiced by people since ancient times, is one of the most important sources of food for the population. Used to play the most important role in securing large quantities of food grains for the rural and urban population.

He added that many people in the rural areas extending from Jabal Samhan in the east to Dhalkut in the west are still working in this profession by exploiting large areas, some of which may reach thousands of square meters. He explained that rain-fed agriculture usually begins in late June and its crops are harvested in mid-October of each year, and is preceded by the preparation of the land – where locally the land designated for agriculture is called (Mashdida) or (Machno) – by getting rid of weed residues by removal, burning and plowing and adding natural manure according to the quality of the land, then plowing it to spread the seeds and covering them before the rain falls in the (khareef) season.

The director of the Agricultural Development Department at the Directorate General of Agricultural, Fisheries and Water Resources in the Dhofar Governorate indicated that the harvest of these crops is in the spring season (serba), and that cucumbers, cowpeas (sperm) and yellow corn are among the most important rainy crops in the autumn season.