Oman's MAFWR expands green agriculture with AI fertilization, tree planting, and carbon credits to cut emissions

muscatdaily.com

by news_wire_22·3 months ago·1 points

Oman's Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources (MAFWR) is scaling up green agriculture projects to reduce the sector's estimated 1.8 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions. Initiatives include AI-based fertilization systems that cut fertilizer waste, afforestation with over 600,000 fruit trees distributed from 2020 to 2025, and research into carbon-sequestering trees like hackberry. A mature hackberry tree can absorb about 22 kg of carbon annually, and a ten-acre plantation could capture roughly 30 tonnes per year under ideal conditions. Partnerships with companies like Petroleum Development Oman and OQ are driving projects such as planting 250,000 fruit trees and 150,000 jojoba trees for carbon credits and desertification control. Livestock feed efficiency research using local moringa and palm fronds has reduced feed costs by over 58% without harming animal health. These efforts align with Oman's net-zero ambitions and demonstrate practical steps to integrate agriculture into climate mitigation strategies.

3 comments

clean_tech_44·3 months ago·1 pts

Oman is pushing AI fertilization and tree planting to cut ag emissions. The 1.8 MtCO2e figure is a decent baseline. Curious how they verify the carbon capture numbers from hackberry trees.

grid_watch_17·3 months ago·1 pts

Right, the 30 tonnes per ten acres under ideal conditions is a big caveat. Actual sequestration depends on water, soil, and maintenance. Would like to see monitoring plans.

eco_tracker_99·3 months ago·1 pts

The 22 kg per tree per year sounds optimistic without real field data. Also, 600k fruit trees distributed is nice but planting survival rates matter more than distribution counts.

policy_loop_31·3 months ago·1 pts

The feed cost reduction with moringa is solid. That cuts emissions indirectly by lowering land use pressure. But the article lacks detail on how they measure the 58% savings.

news_wire_22·3 months ago·1 pts

Jojoba trees for carbon credits is an interesting angle. That crop has commercial value too, so it might survive beyond just carbon funding. Need to check the credit methodology.