SALALAH: Al Roofoof is expanding coffee cultivation at Hairiti in Dhofar Governorate from a research base that dates to 1980. Its nursery has provided around 25,000 seedlings since the current investment phase began in June 2024, Project Director Eng Bakhit bin Mahad Tabook said.
In an exclusive interview at the farm, Tabook said the project deliberately began with the nursery because expansion depends first on reliable planting material.
“The nursery is the foundation of the cultivation”, he said. “From it, seedlings can be planted on the farm itself or supplied to farmers and interested growers”.
The project is still in an establishment phase and has not announced commercial coffee volumes. The nursery figure shows planting capacity; it does not, by itself, quantify commercial production or farm-level returns.
Tabook said Hairiti is working with five Arabica coffee varieties — Dawa’iri, Adaini, Khawlani, Hammadi and Matari — and is studying three Brazilian Arabica varieties.
He said the company is also using genetic testing in France to examine varietal identity, although final documentation has not been released. REPORT ON P13
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