Bakhit bin Mahad Tabook is confident in the agronomy. His Observer interview also points to the next test: protection, time, quality, costs and a market that rewards farmers.
Eng Bakhit bin Mahad Tabook is unusually firm when asked about the prospects for coffee in Dhofar.
“I do not want to say that I merely expect it to succeed”, the Hairiti project director said. “Based on the research carried out here over many years, I am confident that coffee can succeed in suitable parts of the mountain belt”.
That confidence matters. But successful cultivation and commercial scale are different tests.
From agronomy to scale
Tabook’s case for cultivation rests on a research history dating to 1980, when Adaini and Dawa’iri were planted at Qairoon Hairiti. Later trials examined fertiliser, shade and elevation, while the current private project has moved into nursery propagation and larger-scale establishment.
He said the nursery has provided around 25,000 seedlings since Al Roofoof began its current investment phase in June 2024. The figure demonstrates propagation and planting capacity; it does not, by itself, quantify farm-level commercial returns.
Protection has a cost
Tabook repeatedly emphasised that young coffee trees require protection from direct sun and strong winds. Earlier Qairoon Hairiti trials support that point, with shaded coffee outperforming exposed plants in most reported measurements.
Economically, however, shade structures, wind protection, fertiliser, nursery management and several years of care all add to establishment costs before a mature crop can generate meaningful revenue.
Establishment costs and the commercial test
Tabook said successful establishment depends on careful farm management, appropriate fertilisation and protection during the early years. These requirements are manageable, he said, but they add to the work and cost involved in bringing young trees to productive maturity.
For growers, however, cultivation is only one part of the equation. Tabook said the market should be considered from the outset because coffee requires spending on seedlings, fertiliser, shade, protection and continued care, while several years may pass before a farmer begins to see a return.
“The first thing any farmer should think about is the market”, he said.
He added that Al Roofoof is prepared to buy Arabica coffee produced by Omani growers in Dhofar, potentially giving farmers a route to market as cultivation expands.
The scale of the commercial opportunity, however, will ultimately depend on mature-tree yields, production costs, quality and the prices growers can secure. No purchase prices, grading system or commercial production volumes have yet been announced.
Quality, not volume alone
Tabook rejected the idea that the future should be judged only by quantity. Hairiti is working with five Arabica varieties and three Brazilian varieties under study, while genetic analysis is being used to examine varietal identity.
But a variety name does not automatically create a premium product. Once meaningful production begins, quality will depend on harvesting, processing, drying, grading, consistency and ultimately the cup.
The farmer needs a buyer
Perhaps the most commercially important part of Tabook’s interview came when he discussed the market.
“The first thing any farmer should think about is the market”, he said. Al Roofoof, he added, is prepared to buy coffee produced by Omani growers in Dhofar.
That could become important if the ministry’s farmer expansion programme develops into meaningful production. But the model is not yet complete: buying prices, grading rules, processing arrangements and volumes have not been announced.
What would prove success
The next evidence should be numerical: mature-tree yields, establishment costs, labour costs, processing losses, quality scores and the price buyers will pay.
Those figures will determine whether coffee remains a distinctive mountain planting, develops into a premium local niche or becomes a wider source of income for growers.
Tabook’s interview makes the stage of the story unusually clear. The research has built confidence that coffee can grow in Dhofar. The next phase is to show whether that cultivation can support a viable local coffee value chain.
Hairiti interview: the key facts
Interviewee: Engineer Bakhit bin Mahad Tabook, Project Director for Al Roofoof’s coffee cultivation project
Current investment phase: Began in June 2024, according to Tabook
Nursery output: Around 25,000 coffee seedlings over roughly two years, according to the interview
Current varieties: Dawa’iri, Adaini, Khawlani, Hammadi and Matari
Under study: Three Brazilian Arabica coffee varieties
Genetic work: Samples sent to France to examine varietal identity; work remains ongoing
Main establishment needs: Shade, protection from strong winds, appropriate fertilisation and careful early-stage management
Farmer market: Tabook says Al Roofoof is prepared to buy Arabica coffee grown by Omani farmers in Dhofar
Historical research base: 148 Adaini and Dawa’iri seedlings planted at Qairoon Hairiti in 1980 in government trials
Commercial status: No commercial coffee volume has been announced; the current project remains in an establishment phase
Suggested pull quotes
• “I do not want to say that I merely expect it to succeed. I am confident that coffee can succeed in suitable parts of the mountain belt”.
• “Agriculture has a rule: it gives you only as much as you give it”.
• “The first thing any farmer should think about is the market”.
• “We are prepared to buy Arabica coffee produced by Omani growers in Dhofar”.
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