Tuesday 05 / November / 2024
Muscat: Oman Flour Mills Company (OFM) signed an accord with the University of Nizwa to finance a research project on utilising the waste of palm trees and fish in feeding Omani goats and sheep for two years.
This agreement comes within the framework of OFM’s efforts to strengthen the food security system in the Sultanate of Oman, support production inputs, and empower scientific research and studies to maximize the sustainable use of natural resources.
The agreement was signed by Ahmed bin Alawi Al Marza, Head of the Social Responsibility Department at OFM, and the Honorable Dr Abdullah bin Saif Al Ghafri, Professor of the UNESCO Chair on Aflaj Studies at the University of Nizwa.
The accord aims to analyse the components of the raw materials involved in the preparation and composition of animal feeds and feed mixtures by examining the nutritional elements of the concerned raw materials, to implement an experiment on feeding Omani goats and sheep with the composed feeds, to measure their effect on the growth of sheep, and to conduct digestion factor experiments on sheep.
It also aims to measure the effect of the feed on producing volatile gases and fatty acids in the digestive system of sheep and study the effect of feed components on sheep health through blood analysis, monitoring sheep health, and testing the effect of diets on carcass characteristics and meat quality.
The research project will be implemented in the Agricultural Experiment Station at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), in cooperation with the Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences in the Agricultural and Marine Sciences College.
Students will also be trained in feed analysis techniques and field experiments during the implementation of the project, while three scientific researchers will be published in prestigious scientific journals.
Commenting on this project, Ahmed Al-Marza’ stated: “The financing accord to implement research on utilising waste of palm tree and fish in feeding Omani goats and sheep comes within the framework of OFM’s efforts to enhance research and studies aimed at finding scientific and practical solutions to develop animal production operations in the Sultanate of Oman.”
He added: "It is also considered part of the company’s strategy to support all aspects of the security system that will contribute to achieving the targeted goals. The cooperation with the University of Nizwa will contribute to enhancing the scientific research fields and empowering students to implement laboratory experiments that can enrich the academic aspects.”
Dr. Saif Al-Ghafri said: “Supporting scientific research by public and private companies is very important to advance scientific progress and achieve sustainable development. He thanked OFM for its interest in supporting scientific research, hoping that, other companies and establishments to follow suit.”
He added: “We praise the support of OFM to finance the research project on palm tree and fish waste, and their use in feeding goats, which comes within the framework of its national and social responsibility and to support scientific experiments that find solutions for production supplements.”
