Straight Talk
Vicente Andreu
Perez
Dr. Vicente Andreu Perez is the Director of the Desertification Research Centre (CIDE), Valencia, Spain,
which is a joint research Center of the Spanish National Research Council, University of Valencia and Valencian Government, and dedicated to the study of causes,
factors and processes of desertification. Dr. Andreu and
senior scientists at CIDE paid a visit to SQU recently
as a part of their collaboration with SQU soil scientists
who are pursuing with a research project studying land
degradation and desertification in Oman, with the support of the Ministry of Environment & Climate Affairs.
CIDE consists of a multidisciplinary staff that directs
its efforts towards the characterization and study of
soil and water degradation processes, the study of the
ecology and evolution of plants and desertification
processes related to climate change. The scientists at
the Centre also analyze and integrate information on
the status and dynamics of the different components
of the environment in thematic mapping as the basis
for regional planning.
Horizon: Could you explain in detail on your association with SQU researchers in studying land degradation in
Oman?
Dr. Andreu: Desertification is a man-made process of the
degradation of land so that it loses its capacity to provide
economic returns under cultivation or grazing. Desertification leads to the increase of the deserted area and the decrease of the fertile and productive land. Researchers from
the Department of Soils, Water & Agricultural Engineering at
SQU, are involved in a research project that consists of mapping, monitoring and develop mitigation strategies of land
degradation in Oman. The project, of four years duration, is
funded by the Ministry of Environment & Climate Affairs.
As a part of mapping and monitoring, which is the first part
of the study, some work has been done in Dhofar region by
SQU researchers. During our stay in Oman, we visited Jabal
Akhdar area, which is one of the regions in Oman severely
affected by desertification. The visit was aimed at surveying
the area for deciding the appropriate methodology of mapping and monitoring land degradation in it.
Horizon: From your visit, could you decide on any ap-
propriate technology for mapping land degradation in Jabal
Akhdar?
Dr. Andreu: As the vegetation in this land is sparse, aerial
photography can be employed to monitor the extent of land
degradation. Analysis of aerial photographs will help us to
know the extent of the problem to decide on suitable methods to combat land degradation. I understand that in Dhofar
region, satellite imagery was used for this task but do not
give enough resolution for this study. As vegetation in Jabal Akhdar is very sparse, we need to have higher resolution
images to analyze its extent trying to have the most realistic
assessment the problem. Satellite images and field work are
done for primary information. Aerial photography is the appropriate technology that can be used for detailed analysis
and mapping. Once the aerial photography is done, a complicate process of digitalizing and analyzing the images to
create different layers to be included in a GIS structure to
study the extent of the problem and to decide on the mitigation ways to be applied. Once we identify the methodology
that works well with the region, we can move on to other
regions in such as the deserts and sand dunes in Sharqia region where land degradation is a big problem. This region
is characterized by sparse shrubs and oases; hence satellite
imagery alone may not work for detailed analysis and mapping because cannot reach enough resolution.
Horizon: What are the causes of desertification?
Dr. Andreu: Desertification commonly appears as the de-
terioration of land, water and other natural resources under
ecological stress caused by human actions. The climate in the
Sultanate of Oman is characterized, by low and erratic rainfall over most parts of the country, and high temperatures
as well. The country occasionally is hit by storms leading
to sand drifts, desert encroachment and soil erosion. Both
natural factors such as global climate change and manmade
factors like deforestation and overgrazing lead to land degradation processes. Water scarcity makes it by far the most
critical resource in the Sultanate. In some parts of Spain, desertification is an important problem too. We, as scientists
from CIDE, have fairly good experience in studying land
degradation processes, by association with various European and American organizations. Many of the CIDE scientists
have made significant contributions to the development of
the European Soil Erosion Model (EUROSEM). By collaborating with scientists in Oman, we believe that the team can
have a better understanding of the dynamics of the problem
and decide on tackling it. After our visit to SQU, which has
been very fruitful in the interchange of ideas, SQU scientists
have agreed to visit our Center in Valencia in near future to
try to establish a more close collaboration between our Institution. It has been an honour for us to visit SQU and to
collaborate with Dr. Malik Al Wardy and his colleagues from
the Department of SWAE of the College of Agricultural and
Marine Sciences.
20 January 2015
‘Barrakat Barramundi’
Panorama
Ethnocentricity of Oman’s Consumers
Mind Over Matter
SQU Hosts ISO Meeting
Department of Public
Relations and Information
Sultan Qaboos University
News Update
Emotional
Intelligence Among
SQU Students
Issue 305
View Point
Loving the Subject
You Study
Mohamed Salem Al Ghailani
Editorial Supervision
Santhosh Muthalath
Senior Editor
Sara Al Gheilani
Nasebah Al Muharrami
Translation
Ahlam Al Wahaibi
Design & Layout
Photography Dept., CET
Photography
Salim Al Sudairi
Circulation
SQU-info
There are many cases where students do not love the subject which they
have to take. We all love some courses as the subject just speaks to us
and some because we are blessed with a fabulous teacher who could
make everything fascinating. But there is always the one course that is
meeting a requirement and just do not work for us. Today students are
concerned about the link between what they study with the jobs they
see themselves having. Everything is seen through the lens of relevance.
Given this perspective a course won’t be interesting if it does not relate
to the perceived future career goal. Nonetheless, there are ways to approach this problem of not loving a subject. Lack of interest in a subject
leads to less focus and attention to the class and to a lower grade.
What are the solutions? First the student should unpack the course. Estimate the skills you are going to get from it. Does it push you to read,
research, write, collaborate with others, and solve problems? Which of
these skills are you likely to need in the workplace where you see yourself? Your motivation can really perfect those skills because they will
be useful to you for achieving your dreams. Try to judge how does this
subject relate to your life.
A magic way to become engaged in a subject is to ask your professor
what drew them to the subject in the first place. They have spent their
lives deeply immersed in a field. They do it for the love of the subject.
Getting to know your professors is always a smart strategy. And so getting them going on what they love will endear you and also maybe turn
on the light bulb for you. Similarly you can talk to upperclassmen who
are doing this as a major. Learn how do they study and what questions
excite them.
If you are not studying a particular subject effectively, the subject may
turn boring for you. Hence, it is important to approach the study effectively. Study groups can energize a subject because you have several
minds and skill sets being brought to bear. Finally, asking someone for
help is indeed a good idea! Love may follow and bring success with it.
@SQU-info
Horizon invites contributions from SQU members of staff and faculty. Contributions in the form of
articles, news, travelogues, stories of unique and interesting experiences, encounters, etc., are welcome. Contributions may be edited for the sake of clarity and length. Please send your contributions
to horizon@squ.edu.om preferably, as MSWord attachments. Authors will be suitably credited.
The views and opinions expressed in the articles published in this newsletter are those of the authors
and are not to be construed as the official views of the publication. Horizon is published three times a
month by the Department of Public Relations and Information, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 50,
P.C. 123, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.
Phone: +968 24141045
E-mail: horizon@squ.edu.om
20 January 2015
P2
Fax: +968 24413 391
Website: www.squ.edu.om
Panorama
‘Barrakat Barramundi’
The Department of Marine Science and Fisheries, College of Agricultural & Marine Sciences (CAMS) at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), recently organized a new fish tasting event: ‘Barrakat
Barramundi’ which was attended by Dr. H. E. Hamed Said Al
Oufi, Undersecretary for Fisheries at the Ministry of Agriculture
& Fisheries, HE Dr. Ali bin Saud Al Bimani, the Vice Chancellor
of SQU, SQU faculty members, and representatives from various
private organizations. The event was the first phase of a researchextension project.
Mr. Saad Al-Amri, the chairman of the Marine Sciences & Fisheries (MSF) student society along with the members of the group
prepared the event as one of the society’s activities under the full
support of Mr. Mohamed Al-Rawahy , CAMS administrator. They
prepared three different types of barramundi dishes-barbecue,
deep fried and traditional Omani style dish (Sallonah) and all attendees were asked which dish was the best form of barramundi
cooking. In the event, Mr. Bada Al-Bawiqi who is the leader of the
aquaculture group at MSF explained the history of barramundi
aquaculture at SQU, specially giving thanks to VC’s special funding and his consideration and support for the aquaculture sector.
Commenting on ‘Barrakat Barramundi’ event, Prof. Anvar Kacimov, Dean of CAMS, lauded the efforts of the faculty, staff and
students in organizing such a unique event. “You should think
big, act big and gain big. Students are on the frontline of the aquaculture revolution -transition from scavenging the sea to cultivation of algae, fish and other species. MSF students sweated in the
field, days and nights in hot ambient conditions, and the achievements are very clearly seen today; it is the marvelous scene of
our students’ capability to adapt their theological knowledge in a
practical way”, the Dean observed.
Asian seabass (Lates calcarifer) is known as barramundi around
the world. Barramundi is widely distributed in the Indo-West Pacific region from the Arabian Gulf to China, Taiwan Province of
China, Papua New Guinea, and northern Australia. Aquaculture
of this species commenced in the 1970s in Thailand and rapidly
spread throughout in the world. Often, these farms will culture
a mixture of species including barramundi, groupers, and snap-
pers. In 2010 its global production reached 75,000 tonnes. Most
barramundi are marketed at 500–900g although small numbers
of larger fish (weighing 1-3kg) are also sold. There are two main
products from farmed barramundi: ‘plate size’ ranging from 350–
500 g, although larger (banquet) fish may be up to 800 g, and fillet
product generally in the range of 2-3 kg.
The Department of Marine Science and Fisheries at SQU introduced 5,000 barramundi (average 3cm and weighing 1.5g) in November 2013 from Thailand for research purposes under VC’s special aquaculture sponsorship. Students in the department grew
them at the AES and Al-Hail aquaculture stations. Now they have
reached the commercial size of around 700g and more. Mr. Bada
Al-Bawiqi said, “The culture of barramundi is much harder than
culture of tilapia but according to my experience I can say that
this species is the most suitable aquaculture species to Oman.”
Dr. Gil Ha Yoon, supervisor of this project, added, “Barramundi
grow very fast; ideally they reach a harvestable size (350g-3kg) in
six months to two years even in hot water temperatures and they
can grow very well in any water salinity; therefore there are many
optimal places for barramundi cultivation. Saltwater-influenced
agriculture farms will be the best place for this species in Oman.
At the moment, we do not have a commercial size aquaculture
farm at SQU but I hope that this event, “Barrakat Barramundi”,
will catch the eyes of other aquaculturists and investors to support our future plans in taking barramundi production to a business scale.
Barramundi Facts
Barramundi’s native waters span from Northern Australia up to
Southeast Asia and all the way west to the coastal waters of India and Sri Lanka. Barramundi is known by many around the
world as Asian Seabass,. The name Barramundi is Aboriginal for
“large-scaled silver fish”. Barramundi live in fresh water, salt water and estuaries (where fresh and saltwater meet). Barramundi
has gained a reputation as one of Australia’s finest eating fish,
usually with a price to match! Barramundi are excellent table fish
and specimens captured from estuarine waters are delicious, with
firm, white, fine-grained meat.
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20 January 2015
News Round Up
Physics Professor Bags
Arab Researcher Award
The Association of Arab Universities selected
Prof. Imaddin Ali Al-Omari, Professor in the
Department of Physics of the College of Science at Sultan Qaboos University, for the “Distinguished Arab Researcher Award” in the
fields of science and engineering for the year
2014. The award was announced in Amman,
Jordan, during the meeting of the executive
council of the Association of Arab Universities
which was held on 5 January. Prof. Al-Omari
will receive the award during the General
Conference of the Association of Arab Universities to be held on 25 March
2015. The award includes a certificate from the Association of Arab Universities and a cash prize of 7,500 US Dollars.
Prof. Al-Omari has been working in Sultan Qaboos University for 14–years
and this award is based on his achievements in teaching, students’ training, research, service to the scientific community, and for the development
of science in the Arab world during his entire academic career, especially
in the past 10 years. In addition to teaching physics for undergraduate and
postgraduate students for the past 19 years in Sultan Qaboos University,
University of Nebraska–Lincoln (USA), and Jordan University of Science
and Technology (Jordan), Prof. Imaddin Ali has published 103 scientific
research papers in international referred, indexed, and recognized journals. He has also presented 40 papers in an international conferences and
delivered several seminars at an international institutions. He also served
as principal investigator of more than 10 research projects and as member
of the editorial board of the two international Journals.
The main research interest of Prof. Al-Omari focuses on the preparation
characterization, and the development of different magnetic materials, using different techniques. These materials including but not limited to thin
films, alloys, nano-crystalline and nano-particles powders and thin films,
and ribbons. His research aims are to improve and develop the different
properties of materials such as thermal, magnetic, resistance to corrosion,
and to cut the energy cost, the preparation cost and save the environment.
The results of his studies have greatly helped to understand the properties
and hence applications towards the industrial and technological development of the magnetic materials, superconducting materials, and materials for nanotechnology. For example, these materials play a dominant role
for high density magnetic recording, high coercivity permanent magnets,
permanent magnets for high temperature applications, materials for high
energy products, batteries, solar cells and others.
Engineering Students
Take Top Honors
Two students and a supervisor from Sultan Qaboos University were
named winners of the annual Honeywell UniSim Design Student Challenge for the Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA) region. Ahmed Abdullah Al-Maimani and Mohammed Nasr Al-Kindi, both engineering
students and Dr. Ashish M. Gujrathi, Asst. Professor at Petroleum and
Chemical Engineering Department at Sultan Qaboos University, showcased their winning submission to the more than 1,000 attendees at the
2014 Honeywell Users Group (HUG) EMEA meeting in The Hague, the
Netherlands.
The research paper investigated ways to reduce the emissions of hydrogen and carbon dioxide, which are main by-products in ammonia
production. “This project embodies the sort of creative yet considered
thinking we need more of in the process industries,” said Ali Raza,
vice president and general manager of Honeywell Process Solutions’
Advanced Solutions business. “Using UniSim Design, Al-Maimani,
Al-Kindi and Dr. Gujrathi have created a clever solution for the process efficiency of ammonia plants. Potentially this could benefit a wide
range of global companies.” The paper, entitled “Production of Synthetic Methane Hydrogen & Carbon Dioxide by-products from Ammonia Plants,” concluded it is possible to produce synthetic methane from
these by-products and recycle it back into the plant in order to reduce
the amount of natural gas required for certain production levels. The
students’ research was supported by Dr. Ashish M. Gujarathi.
Honeywell’s UniSim Design Student Challenge seeks to recognize
some of the most talented engineering students around the world. It
challenges students to solve real-world problems facing industrial processing plants by using Honeywell’s UniSim Design process simulation
and design software, which is used by manufacturers throughout the
globe.
SQU Staff Attend Workshop on Information Security
shop on Information Security at Khasab, Musandam Governorate.
The workshop was designed to raise awareness on information
security and secure use of computers and the Internet at the university. A number of directors and deputy directors of different
administrative units and centres, deans and assistant deans of colleges and senior officials from the administration, participated in
the workshop.
Under the patronage of H.E. Dr. Ali bin Saud Al Bimani, the
Vice Chancellor, Sultan Qaboos University organized a work20 January 2015
P6
The workshop shed light on safe use of information technology
and communication devices in everyday life, safe use of the Internet and data management. The workshop topics also covered
security of information, privacy and identity theft and protection
of electronic devices from malicious software, emails and instant
messaging and how to backup and restore data properly and safely.
News Update
SQU Hosts ISO Meeting
Sultan Qaboos University, in association with the Ministry of Commerce
and Industry, hosted the second meeting of the working group of the committee on quality management system in educational institutions of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Sultan Qaboos University had formed a special working group to prepare for the meeting chaired
by H.H. Sayyidah Dr. Mona bint Fahad Al Said, Assistant Vice Chancellor
for International Cooperation. The working group included specialists from
SQU, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Ministry of Higher
Education.
Speaking to the participants of the workshop, Sayyidah Dr. Mona Al Said,
said that SQU, being the premier higher educational institution in Oman,
was glad to host such a very important meeting. “Educational standards
are very significant pillars of any educational system, and therefore its continuous development and improvement will have a long-standing positive
impact on the outcomes of educational institutions”, she said. The Assistant Vice Chancellor praised ISO, the world’s largest developer of voluntary
International Standards, for its great and continuous efforts in developing
such high quality International Standards, and for giving Sultan Qaboos
University the honor and opportunity to host this meeting. Dr. Sandra Felciano, the Convener of ISO/PC288 Working Group 1, also spoke on the
occasion, in which she thanked SQU for the hospitality the participants received at the university. As many as quality management 20 experts from
different parts of the world, attended the three day meeting.
Dr. Hamoud Bin Abdullah Al Muqbali, Representative of the Sultanate to
the Committee, said that this meeting, the second for working group of the
Committee on Quality Management System in educational institutions of
the International Organization for Standardization, reviewed some of the
work done during the previous meeting in the Portuguese capital Lisbon
to complete it. He said that the project is currently in the process of establishing a standard. Therefore it would be somewhat a long way, expressing
his happiness that Muscat is one of the main stations for the development
of this standard, which is concerned with the quality of education in educational institutions. He pointed out that some work has been done on the
basic things of this meeting and then was built upon those basic things.
Seminars Focus on Entrepreneurship and Branding
what is essential and what isn’t, and facilitates decision making and
meetings, development of staff. Communication and leadership skills
begin with good Listening”, she said.
Surry Scheerer said that the more a leader listens to others, the more
likely he or she is likely to hear what colleagues need to do their jobs;
hear what clients and customers want; hear good ideas; receive bad
news, and avoid mistakes and build stronger relationships. “To become good communicators one should be aware of his/her listening
habits. Surry Scheerer advised to practice listening and reflecting what
one hears before he/she responds. “Be curious, interested in others’
perspective and ask for feedback on your communication skills”, she
said.
The Academic Innovation Assistance Program (AIAP), at Sultan Qaboos University, recently hosted a series of lectures on entrepreneurship
related topics delivered by experts from the University of Michigan.
The topics included communication skills for entrepreneurs, theory in
new directions in brand love, and access to capital for technology oriented startups.
Giving a lecture on “Leadership Skills for Entrepreneurs: Effective and
Mindful Communication”, Surry Scheerer, consultant coach for custom
programs at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business Executive Education Program, said that good communication and leadership
promotes authenticity, clarity, trust and more effective relationships.
“Good communication and leadership promote the ability to speak to
Barbara Peitsch, an international development consultant and a program director at the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan Ann Arbor, gave a talk on “Access to Capital for Technology-oriented Startups”. She said that technology oriented private startups
in the Middle East offer hope as the standard of living in education,
health and consumer capabilities create lots of demand for new products applications. “Half of the region’s population are under 25 years
old. Traditional sectors in the Middle East and North Africa region
don’t have enough jobs and youth unemployment as high as 60% in
some countries in the region. Private startups can mitigate the problem
of unemployment to a great extent”, she said. Prof. Aaron Ahuvia, Professor of Marketing at the University of Michigan-Dearborn College
of Business, delivered a talk on “Brand love: Core Theory and New
Directions”.
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20 January 2015
Insight
Emotional Intelligence
Among SQU Students
Emotional intelligence is providing to be more popular today and many organizations
are incorporating Emotional Intelligence training. Emotional intelligence
is used in many areas such as education,
police forces, military and other sectors.
Emotional intelligences is the analysis, thinking
and planning of how our emotions influence others
and how we can manage emotions to achieve better
communications and healthier relationships. Students need to understand each other and communicate with each other and with staff members and
instructors which makes emotional intelligence very
important and vital. Emotions and feelings have become
the blood vessels of every organization today, whether educational or non-educational, profit or non-profit. It is an element
of high ranking that cannot be underestimated.
Looking into emotional intelligence in an educational institution
would give an indication of problems, lack of emotional intelligence that can be treated and dealt with before students graduate
from the university and carry with them unresolved emotions
and how levels of emotional intelligence which would affect
their relationships at work, productivity and many other work
related issues. Hence emotional intelligence is the ability to work
well with people and people’s emotion both on and off the job.
Consequently it would affect human relations at work, where
many authors have stressed on the importance of emotional intelligence at work. Emotional intelligence refers to an ability to
recognize the meanings of emotion and their relationships and
to reason and solve problems on the basis of them. Emotional
intelligence can be interpreted as societal practices that integrate
emotion as with thought and blends it together.
Emotional intelligence is the life blood of every organization, and
is a vital element in human relationships and success at work
and in life. Understanding our feelings and emotions, being able
to manage them effectively and in turn understanding others’
emotions and responding to their concerns is what emotional
intelligence is all about. Understanding the levels of emotional
intelligence at the university and investigating the role of culture,
helps to understand and detect problems and intervene to assist
the flow of communication and relationships. That would in turn
enable students to better prepare themselves for the future and in
dealing with others. The results of the study conducted in Oman
revealed a moderate level of emotional intelligence and abilities
of students.
Dr. Suhaila E. Alhashemi, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Management of the College of Economics and Political
Science at SQU, as part of her research, investigated the level of
20 January 2015
P4
emotional
intelligence among students at SQU. She
used quantitative and qualitative
methods through Wong’s Emotional
Intelligence Scale (WEIS) for measuring
emotional intelligence. The study was conducted among 201 students at SQU from the
college of Economics & Political Science (100), Arts
& Social Sciences (52), and Engineering (50).
The total scores were out of 40 and the average scores
of the participants from SQU is 24. Regarding the academic achievements of the students, this is reflected in
their Grade Point Average (GPA). The GPA of the majority of students at SQU was 2.6, and minimum GPA ranged
between 2 and 3.4 out of 4. The findings revealed a relationship
between scores and age where participants that fell in the age
group of above 21 scored higher than those in the 18-21 category.
The reason is that students from the age of 22 onwards are exposed to different experiences and they take internship training
outside the university which enables them to gain more knowledge and experience in dealing with people, their emotions and
ability to manage their feelings. Also, students over the age of
22 are more mature. Students in Oman find it very difficult and
uncomfortable in revealing their GPA especially if it is on the low
side.
Elaborating the findings of her study, Dr. Suhaila E. Alhashemi
said: “The overall level of emotional intelligence of students was
moderate with average total scores in the questionnaire were 24
out of 40. The first part of the WEIS questionnaire, the respondents were asked to choose one option that best reflects their most
likely reaction for each of the 20 scenarios, the average scores
were 13 which is a moderate level. The highest score for this part
was 19 and the lowest was 6. The second part of WEIS contains
20 ability pairs and the respondents are asked to choose one out
of the two types of abilities and best represent their strengths.
The highest scores attained here were 19 and the lowest score
was 5 with an average of 11 out of 20, which is again moderate
level of emotional intelligence abilities. There was no relationship between emotional intelligence and academic success (GPA)
of students. The correlation between scores and academic success was -0.07. Students who had high GPA had lower scores and
some of the students with low and moderate level of academic
success had high scores”.
The study recommends that further extended studies should
be carried out to other students in private universities and in
schools to further explore and support this research and make
comparisons with other similar studies carried out in the region
and elsewhere. Furthermore, it is suggested to also cover the
schooling population within the Gulf Region.
Mind Over Matter
Ethnocentricity of
Oman’s Consumers
Researchers in the Department of Natural Resource Economics at
Sultan Qaboos University recently conducted a study to investigate the level of consumer ethnocentrism in Oman and identify the
effects of it on consumer demand for locally-produced products.
Majority of consumers who participated in the study indicated
that they would buy locally produced agricultural products when
the price and quality of the products are as good as imported ones.
The consumers indicated that they will buy products that offer the
best value for money, regardless of whether they are locally produced in Oman or imported.
Consumer Ethnocentrism is the belief held by consumers about
the appropriateness and morality of purchasing foreign-made/imported products. For ethnocentric consumers purchasing imported
products is seen as unpatriotic because it has an adverse impact
on the domestic economy. Hence ethnocentric consumers tend to
favour purchasing locally-produced products than foreign produced imported-products. To non-ethnocentric consumers, on the
other hand, imported-products are objects to be evaluated on their
own merits. As a strategy to lure consumers into viewing locally
produced products positively against imported products, governments and businesses have been known to engage in targeted “buy
local” campaigns. In Oman for example there is the “Origin Oman”
which is a domestic campaign to promote Oman produced products and services. At the market place therefore, Oman consumers
are faced with a choice between locally-produced products (supported and promoted by the “Origin Oman” campaign) and imported products.
In this study, conducted by Dr. Msafiri Mbaga, Assistant Professor in the Department of Natural Resources Economics of the
College of Agricultural & Marine Sciences, and team, four locally
produced commodities (beef, chicken, tomato and cucumber) were
investigated. Data was collected by means of a questionnaire and
the mall intercept approach was employed to collect data. A total
of 405 respondent shoppers were interviewed. The sample was
comprised of mostly Omani at 91.1%. Males and females were 59
and 41% respectively. The majority of respondents (91.8%) were between 20 and 50 years. Majority of the respondents indicated that
Omani consumers should buy Oman-locally produced products
whenever possible. With respect to quality, the majority stated that
Oman locally produced products were not of poorer quality. In terms of price
the views are mixed, while 64.4% and 51.1% respectively of the respondents
stated that Oman beef and chicken are highly priced, only 21.7% and 20.5%
respectively of the respondents thought that Oman tomatoes and cucumbers
are highly priced. In other words, aside from locally produced beef and chicken being regarded as highly priced, Oman consumers are okay with Oman
locally produced agricultural products in terms of quality and price. With regard to shopping for locally produced beef, chicken, tomatoes and cucumber:
59.2, 62.4, 59.3 and 59% of the respondents respectively, indicated that they
specifically look for beef, chicken, tomato and cucumber when shopping for
food. Dr. Msafiri Mbaga, said that these results reinforce the ethnocentrism of
the Oman consumers.
With regard to the attitudes of Omani consumers to “buy local” campaigns,
the majority of respondents (90.7%) are in favor of the government participation in encouraging Omanis to buy locally produced products, compared
to (88.9%) who said the industry should do it. However, the difference does
not seem to be significant, which seems to suggest the need for both the
government and the industry to work together on this. Only 63.4% of the
respondents agreed that the “Buy Local” campaign have been successful in
persuading Omanis to think about changing their food shopping habits. In
other words, 36.6% of the respondents were of the view that the “Buy Local” campaign was unsuccessful. This view is overwhelmingly supported by
90.3% of the respondents who believe that the government should do more
to promote Omani locally produced food products such as beef and chicken.
With regard to job opportunities, 74.8% thought that buying Omani locally
produced food products would create work opportunities in Oman. This
view is supported by 86.1% of respondents who are of the opinion that buying Omani locally produced food products will help Oman economy. Respondents also indicated overwhelmingly (91.6%) that the Oman agricultural
industry must be more competitive. With respect to restriction on the inflow
of imports, only 51.2 of respondents thought Oman should regulate and
when necessary restrict the inflow of imported food products that compete
with locally produced food products. “In summary, looking at these results,
there appears to be a strong support by Omani consumers for the “Buy Local”
campaign. At the same time consumers wants the agricultural industry to be
competitive. Furthermore, Omani consumers understand that buying locally
produced food products would create jobs in Oman and help the economy”,
Dr. Mbaga said.
Policy implications
According to Dr. Msafiri Mbgaga, the results of this study could be used to
support the Omani government efforts to diversify the economy. Furthermore, this study results provide information that might be potentially useful
to investors in the agricultural and fisheries sector of the Oman economy. Dr.
Mbgaga said that efforts are underway to expand this study to cover more
locally produced products in Oman, both food products and industrial products. Interested businesses may contact the researcher by email to msafiri@
squ.edu.om .
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20 January 2015