Muscat: A contract was signed today to award a project for the construction of the first camel cheese processing facility in the Wilayat of Rakhyut, Governorate of Dhofar.
The measure intends to promote economic growth, empower rural women, and improve the value chain of dairy goods.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is carrying out the project. The initiative is the result of collaboration between the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Water Resources, and will be funded by the Al Jisr charitable foundation.
The plant is slated to open in the first quarter of 2026. It is intended to process 500 liters to two tons of camel milk daily, with intentions to steadily boost processing capacity to 5 tons by the end of the first year of operation and then to more than 15 tons.
The factory will produce fresh and semihard cheeses, with intentions to expand to include hard cheese, condensed milk, dairy desserts, and ice cream.
In the first phase, the plant will support 20 rural women from the Omani Women's Association in the Wilayat of Rakhyut, Dhofar Governorate. It will empower women to contribute to the local food production sector by creating and marketing camel products.
The empowered women participated in capacity-building programs and received extensive workshops and training courses that sharpened their abilities and increased their awareness of quality standards, food safety, finance, marketing, and small business management.
The contract signing ceremony was officiated by Dr. Ahmed Nasser Al Bakri, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Water Resources for Agriculture.
It is important to note that Dhofar Governorate is a significant camel habitat in the Sultanate of Oman. According to 2023 data, Dhofar Governorate has around 177,821 camels, making it an important hub for the camel dairy sector.
