Analysis of crops cultivation trend: a shifting scenario in a coastal Wilayat, Oman

This study presents an analysis on situation of agriculture over recent years in the Wilayat of Al-Suwaiq (administrative unit) which is a part of Al-Batinah Region of Oman. Over the recent years, this area has undergone many changes in terms of increased demand for land and economic development. The aim of this study is to provide information on the situation of cultivation in agriculture with the help of agriculture census database of two different periods. A comparison analysis is carried out using database of years 2004–2005 and 2012–2013. Results of analysis showed that the cropped land holdings area decreased from 2972 ha in 2004 to 2724 ha (decrease of 248 ha) in 2013. Most of this reduction was in fruit trees and date palm which could be attributed to salinity of soils as well as water. Interestingly, vegetable crops area increased from 1139 to 6182 ha (increase of 5043 ha), and this could be attributed to greenhouse farming which generates considerable profits. However, the reduction in area of cultivation by date palms and fruit trees has been a major concern, and proper strategies should be developed toward achieving sustainable development in agriculture sector of Oman.