07 Feb 2007
Muscat: Sultan Qaboos Bin Saeed has warned agricultural landowners not to rent out their arable land for purposes other than cultivation and has ordered government officials to monitor the issue, the official Omani News Agency reported late on Monday.
According to a report by the Omani News Agency (ONA) the Omani leader, speaking to shaikhs and the other dignitaries of the wilayats of Al Dakhiliyah and Al Wusta regions during his Meet the People tour on Monday noted that some owners are giving their agricultural land to others to use however they desire.
"This is an alarming, unhealthy and abnormal phenomenon that we neither accept nor are pleased with. We hereby instruct the parties concerned to intensify observation and monitoring to ensure proper use of agricultural land," he said.
The Omani Ruler also announced that a three-day symposium on sustainable agricultural development will be held at the Royal Camp at Seeh Al Rasiyat in Sumayil to tackle the issue of preserving arable land for agricultural purposes only. He also stressed the importance of rationalising water resources and protecting soil against overuse or abuse by chemical fertilisers.
He stressed that he was not talking about the expansion of arable land but preserving cultivable areas that already exist in the country.
"Here, we are not talking about an expansion in agriculture areas, but rather about preserving what we already have, about proper productivity, rationalisation of water resources and the need to avoid damaging the soil by excessive usage of chemical fertilisers."
He also talked about preserving date palms in the country.
"The number of palm trees is well known in Oman and what is important is to preserve this figure. The benefit will be greater if we could still add to the number of existing date palms in the country," he said.
Announcing the discovery of a considerably large aquifer between central and south Oman, the Omani Ruler, ordered the government to keep this find as Oman's reserve.
"Water wells shall be drilled and pipelines be extended from these wells and, whenever the need arises, the water shall be supplied to designated places," he said.
Quoting the Quran, he said "From water we have made every living creature."
Sultan Qaboos warned: "We will never tolerate any misuse of agricultural 'wealth' because it is not ours alone... it is the right of our grandchildren."
By Staff Reporter
Gulf News 2007. All rights reserved.
