Wednesday 30 / September / 2026
Muscat: The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources, represented by the Directorate General of Agriculture and Animal Research, has completed the technical procedures required to register the "Razat" banana variety submitted by the Royal Court Affairs, represented by the management of the Royal Razat Farm, with the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV).
The registration of the variety follows the completion of the necessary technical examinations and tests in accordance with the approved rules and guidelines for novelty, distinctness, and stability testing of plant varieties. The results of the examinations and the assessment of the Plant Variety Registration Committee concluded that the "Razat" banana variety meets the technical requirements prescribed for registration, confirming its distinctness, uniformity, and stability of characteristics in accordance with the registration application.
The registration of the "Razat" banana variety serves as a practical model of integration between research, agricultural production, resource protection, legislation, and investment. It demonstrates how agricultural efforts can be transformed, through documentation, evaluation, and legal protection, into scientific and economic value capable of development as national assets. These assets can contribute to supporting innovation, developing the agricultural sector, creating new investment opportunities, enhancing the added value of local products and resources, and opening broader prospects for the private sector to invest in technologies and plant resources. It also strengthens the agricultural sector's contribution to the national economy.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources affirmed that this measure carries significance beyond being a legal or technical step to register a new plant variety in the Sultanate of Oman. It forms part of a national framework aimed at protecting, documenting and preserving plant genetic resources, and establishing frameworks that enable their development and sustainable utilization. This enhances the value of national agricultural resources as a wealth capable of development and investment.
Dr. Safaa Mohammed Al Farsi, Head of the Seed Research and Plant Genetic Resources Department at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources, told Oman News Agency (ONA) that documenting and registering plant varieties is one of the important pathways in conserving genetic resources. The registration process is not limited to proving the characteristics of a variety and granting it legal protection; it also contributes to establishing a documented scientific and technical record that can be referenced and utilized in agricultural research and development programs. This becomes increasingly important given the strategic value of plant genetic resources for the agricultural sector as a fundamental basis for scientific research, production development, variety breeding, and improvement of agricultural practices.
She added that the registration of the "Razat" banana variety represents an addition to the base of plant varieties documented with the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) in the Sultanate of Oman. It enhances efforts aimed at conserving plant diversity, preserving knowledge related to varieties and their characteristics, and making them available for future utilization in accordance with approved scientific and legal frameworks.
It is worth noting that the procedures for registering the "Razat" banana variety are based on the Law on the Protection of the Rights of Breeders of New Plant Varieties issued by Royal Decree No. 49/2009 and its Executive Regulations issued by Ministerial Decision No. 277/2015. These include the controls and procedures related to the examination and registration of new plant varieties in accordance with approved national frameworks and in line with the technical guidelines followed in the field of protecting new plant varieties.
The existence of this legislative framework, with the Sultanate of Oman's membership represented by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources, reflects the paramount importance of protecting agricultural innovation and encouraging entities and institutions to document and develop varieties. This achieves a balance between protecting the rights of variety owners and enabling research, development and economic utilization in accordance with the law.
