AMMAN — As the
war in Ukraine ramps up concerns about food security internationally, officials,
experts, and civil society organizations have started calling for the Kingdom
to develop a “robust” food security strategy to blunt the impact of food supply
crises.
اضافة اعلان
Jordanian associations directly involved
with import and production of foodstuffs have taken a step further, calling for
the establishment of a food security council to ensure the continued supply of
basic foodstuffs to the population.
Jordan imports as much as 85 percent
of its food needs, Vice President of the General
Association for Foodstuffs Merchants Khaldoun Al-Aqqad told
Jordan News, contending that “Jordan has
always required a food security council.”
As a consumer country, “serious” steps
must be taken by the government to secure the country’s long-term food needs,
he said.
“At the moment we are safe,” Aqqad said,
but urged the government to take “bold decisions” on the issue, such as
facilitating the import of foodstuffs from alternative countries and reducing
customs duties on food imports.
The Kingdom needs to address its food
supply and safeguard its strategic food stock, he said, adding “How can we not
need it (now)?”
Aqqad said that the association, together
with the Jordan and Amman chambers of commerce, has been calling for the
establishment of a food security council since the onset of the
COVID-19 pandemic. However, officials have yet to produce “clear results or decisions on
this matter,” he said.
... A crucial portion of the world’s world’s wheat, corn, and barley is trapped in Russia because of the war, which has driven the prices of wheat up by 21 percent and barley by 33 percent internationally.
Mahmoud Al-Oran, the secretary-general of
the
Jordan Farmers Union (JFU), voiced his support of the association’s
efforts, stressing that even the EU is not immune to the food and energy impact
of the war in Ukraine. Even if Jordan did not import wheat from Ukraine or Russia,
the increase in prices would be felt, he said.
According to the New York
Times, a crucial portion of the world’s wheat, corn, and barley is
trapped in Russia because of the war, which has driven the prices of wheat up
by 21 percent and barley by 33 percent internationally. Furthermore India,
which normally exports only a relatively small amount of wheat, has seen
foreign demand more than triple.
The government must develop
a plan that adapts to the changing variables on the ground, Oran said. By
establishing a food security council, the knowledge and expertise of the
ministries of agriculture, industry, and water, among others, can be
concentrated in one entity.
The council would be able to
address more than the effects of the war in Ukraine, such as the impact of
climate change on local agriculture and the increasing price of produce.
The food
sector representative at the
Jordan Chamber of Industry, Mohammad Al-Jitan,
said he did not see the need to establish a council, as it would further increase
the number of entities with similar jurisdictions.
“What is happening in Jordan
is happening across the world,” he said, acknowledging there is a production
shortfall. "However, we hope that the government will take
steps to address the food crisis when it arises, rather than creating new
institutions to duplicate the work of those that currently exist," Jitan
said.
Jitan assured that Jordan has a sufficient
strategic reserve of certain foodstuffs, such as wheat and barley, among
others, to last up to 15 months.
According to the
World Food Program’s
latest assessment, while Jordan is considered food secure, that food security
is challenged by “multitude of structural and
political factors, such as high poverty rates, unemployment, slow
economic growth, and increased cost of living.”
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