Ministerial Decision 84/2020 Issuing the Regulation Governing the Use of Agricultural Land. Country/Territory Oman Document type Regulation Date 2020 Source FAO, FAOLEX Subject Agricultural & rural development, Land & soil, Water Keyword Agricultural land Authorization/permit Irrigation Procedural matters Lease Royalties/fees Land-use planning Well sinking/boreholes Geographical area Asia, Indian Ocean, Middle East, Near East and North Africa, Western Asia Entry into force notes This Regulation enters into force the day after its publication in the Official Gazette. Abstract This Regulation consisting of 62 articles aims at regulating the use of agricultural land in the Sultanate. General provisions state that (i) it is prohibited to transfer soil from agricultural land, or bulldozing it, or filling it with soil that is not suitable for cultivation; (ii) it is prohibited to remove palm and fruits trees from the agricultural land for the purpose of dredging the soil and changing its features; (iii) It is prohibited to use wells and aflajs (underground water systems used for irrigation) designated to irrigate crops, existing houses, and service facilities for any other purpose; (iv) the authorized employees of the Ministry have the right to enter the agricultural land from sunrise until sunset in order to detect violations that occur in violation of the provisions of these Regulations; (v) a preliminary approval may be granted to change the use of using the agricultural land to a non-agricultural purpose if the change is for the establishment of value-added investment projects, including the following: private or international school, universities or specialized colleges, commercial complex, hospital or specialized medical centers, hotel or the tourist resort, economically feasible projects related to agricultural, animal, and fish activities; (vi) the approval issued under the provisions of these Regulations is valid for a period of 2 years, and if this period lapses without the completion of the rest of the procedures, the approval shall be considered void; (vii) the requests referred to in these Regulations are referred to a Technical Committee formed by a decision of the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Agriculture. Full text Arabic Website maf.gov.om References - Legislation Repeals Ministerial Decision No.10 of 2017 issuing the Regulations on the use of agricultural land. Legislation | Oman | 2017 Keyword: Agricultural land, Authorization/permit, Use restrictions, Land-use planning, Lease Source: FAO, FAOLEX