Date Value Chain Analysis, Development, and Competitiveness of Date Palm Products in the Sultanate of Oman

This paper considers the vision of how to develop an efficient value chain and development strategies to improve the value chain in Oman. The main key factors of inclusive and sustainable development of the date value chain are determined to carry out the appropriate actions for improving the date palm sector in Oman. To explore the challenges and opportunities leading to the improvement of the marketing, commercialization, and competitiveness of dates and date palm products in this country, an analytical tool guideline (SWOT) was framed. Such analysis is useful to raise awareness to create policies for improved marketing of dates. Based on the SWOT analysis, the diversification of date varieties, and orientation toward modern plantations are the most important strengths of the date value chain. However, the increasing competition in regional and global date markets is the major threat to the date sector in Oman. There is a good possibility to promote the date processing industry in Oman given the rising demand for fresh and processed dates in national and international markets. A profitable and competitive date palm sector could be achieved by focusing on high yield and commercial varieties to ensure higher date palm productivity and the orientation toward adoption of quality standards to meet international market demand

Genetic diversity of the Nubian ibex in Oman as revealed by mitochondrial DNA

The Nubian ibex (Capra nubiana) is patchily distributed across parts of Africa and Arabia. In Oman, it is one of the few free-ranging wild mammals found in the central and southern regions. Its population is declining due to habitat degradation, human expansion, poaching and fragmentation. Here, we investigated the population's genetic diversity using mitochondrial DNA (D-loop 186 bp and cytochrome b 487 bp). We found that the Nubian ibex in the southern region of Oman was more diverse (D-loop HD; 0.838) compared with the central region (0.511) and gene flow between them was restricted. We compared the genetic profiles of wild Nubian ibex from Oman with captive ibex. A Bayesian phylogenetic tree showed that wild Nubian ibex form a distinct clade independent from captive animals. This divergence was supported by high mean distances (D-loop 0.126, cytochrome b 0.0528) and high FST statistics (D-loop 0.725, cytochrome b 0.968). These results indicate that captive ibex are highly unlikely to have originated from the wild population in Oman and the considerable divergence suggests that the wild population in Oman should be treated as a distinct taxonomic unit. Further nuclear genetic work will be required to fully elucidate the degree of global taxonomic divergence of Nubian ibex populations

Date Value Chain Analysis, Development, and Competitiveness of Date Palm Products in the Sultanate of Oman

This paper considers the vision of how to develop an efficient value chain and development strategies to improve the value chain in Oman. The main key factors of inclusive and sustainable development of the date value chain are determined to carry out the appropriate actions for improving the date palm sector in Oman. To explore the challenges and opportunities leading to the improvement of the marketing, commercialization, and competitiveness of dates and date palm products in this country, an analytical tool guideline (SWOT) was framed. Such analysis is useful to raise awareness to create policies for improved marketing of dates. Based on the SWOT analysis, the diversification of date varieties, and orientation toward modern plantations are the most important strengths of the date value chain. However, the increasing competition in regional and global date markets is the major threat to the date sector in Oman. There is a good possibility to promote the date processing industry in Oman given the rising demand for fresh and processed dates in national and international markets. A profitable and competitive date palm sector could be achieved by focusing on high yield and commercial varieties to ensure higher date palm productivity and the orientation toward adoption of quality standards to meet international market demand

The Red Sea and Gulf of Aden basins

International audienc