A'Saffa Foods, a fully integrated poultry and processed food producer based in Oman, said it was the Gold sponsor at the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries’ Food Investment Forum which concluded last week in the sultanate.

The two-day event was held under the patronage of Sayyid Asaad bin Tariq al Said, Deputy Prime Minister for International Relations and Cooperation Affairs and personal representative of HM Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said, and Dr Fuad Jafar Al Sajwani, Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries.

Aiming to be one of the key drivers and frontrunners of economic growth and sustainability in the sultanate, A’Saffa Foods’ participation brought together key stakeholders from the agricultural and fisheries investment arena, from both the public and private sectors, said a statement from the company.

The forum witnessed the participation of experts, researchers, investors, and partners who discussed investments supporting food security, as well as the optimisation of promising investment opportunities at the event, it said.

Engineer Mohammed Suhail Al Shanfari, chief executive officer, A’Saffa Foods, said: “We are humbled to have supported the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries’ progressive approach to defining and addressing sustainability challenges within the sultanate’s agriculture, livestock and fisheries sector.”

“The learnings from this forum will go a long way in shaping the future of agriculture, livestock and fisheries – sustainably, responsibly, and efficiently,” he said.

Al Shanfari continued: “By participating in and lending our support to events off this nature, we look forward to continuing to deliver positive impacts for the community in particular and the nation at large, in the years to come.”

“We are constantly looking for ways to innovate and build food security for the future. In keeping with this, we are always committed to collaborating with the right stakeholders to understand and prioritise food security and support tailored initiatives which create shared value for the Omani community, the planet and all stakeholders in the value-chain,” he added.

In their endeavour to foster and support food security, self-sufficiency and increased employment opportunities in the sultanate, A’Saffa Foods’ board of directors have approved an expansion plan to raise chicken meat production capacity by 100 per cent, said a company statement.

The total capital expenditure outlay of the expansion is RO45 million ($117.56 million). Following the expansion, the annual slaughtering capacity of birds will go up to 44 million, expanding the company's annual poultry meat production to a whopping 42,000 metric tonnes, it stated. – TradeArabia News Service