MUSCAT: The fisheries sector has been accorded with great care by the government as one of the promising sectors for economic diversification programme. This is due to the fact that the sector has great potentials and can contribute to enhancing food security, availing job opportunities for Omanis and maximizing its contribution to the GDP. The fisheries labs, which were supervised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and supported by the Implementation Support Unit of Tanfeedh, discussed involving the private sector and ensuring the required support of the government for this sector which plays a very important role in ensuring food security in the Sultanate.
The six-week long panel discussions from September 17 to November 26 have diagnosed the challenges, identified possible solutions, set the prioritised initiatives and projects and developed the timetables for implementation, as well as the cost of the same.
The fisheries sector laboratories came out with 91 initiatives that cover the three main areas namely the fish farming, fishing and added value industries and fish exports.
The private sector expressed its readiness to finance 93 per cent of the projects and initiatives, whose cost was estimated at about RO 1 billion.
The government will provide some infrastructure and facilities (only 7 per cent). These initiatives and projects are expected to contribute by about RO 556 million, which triples the contribution of the sector to the GDP to RO 781 million in 2023.
Upon completion, the initiatives and projects that have been approved at the laboratories will avail about 8,000 direct
job opportunities for Omanis in 2023.
As part of the third step of the fisheries lab, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries organised open meetings during the period from November 1 to 16 to present the outcomes of the labs to fishermen, members of the sea traditions committees, members of the municipal councils, relative public and private organizations, students and academicians at the various coastal wilayats.
About 100 participants at the labs, from the different orgnaisations, have gathered under one roof and discussed the challenges facing fishermen and companies operating in the sector.
During the discussions, the participants stressed the high importance of providing the required land plots for the growth of the sector. — ONA
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