Amman: Agriculture Minister Khaled Al-Hneifat said that the ministry has been working hard over the past year to create an action plan to raise Jordan’s ranking in the Global Food Security Index (GFSI). Two of the initiatives taken to achieve this goal are the creation of a national database for food security and the issuance of a unique system for the Food Security Council.
Al-Hneifat told the Jordan News Agency (Petra) that the agriculture sector, which supplies about 20 percent of Jordan’s GDP, is the cornerstone of food security and is the most impacted by climate change. With the unwavering support of His Majesty King Abdullah II, the National Plan for Sustainable Agriculture was launched in 2022 and is still being implemented today. To develop the agriculture industry, ensure Jordan’s food security, and equip Jordan to handle the effects of climate change until 2025.
Al-Hneifat clarified that in order to help farmers deal with the effects of climate change, a program was created to improve sustainabil
ity, their capacity to adapt, and the steps they can take to meet these challenges. For example, the Ministry financed 9,777 farmers and provided 233 farmers with state-of-the-art irrigation systems that use less water by facilitating good loans. A 52.485 million Jordanian dinars agricultural initiative funded by the Agricultural Credit Corporation (ACC) resulted in 6,822 new employment possibilities in the agriculture industry.
In reference to the preservation of plant and animal resources, he reported that a program for the development and sustainability of forests, pastures, and the ecosystem had been established, and that the Ministry had referred a tender for the purchase of tools and equipment to open two veterinary hospitals in the North and South. Additionally, he said that 75 percent of small ruminants had received a foot-and-mouth disease vaccination.
Source: Jordan News Agency