AMMAN — Agriculture stakeholders on
Tuesday welcomed the government’s National Plan for Sustainable Agriculture,
announced by
Minister of Agriculture Khaled Hneifat, stressing the importance
of coordination among various concerned authorities and of unifying efforts to
implement the plan.
اضافة اعلان
On Sunday, Hneifat introduced the
National Plan for Sustainable Agriculture 2022-2025, which aims to improve the living
conditions of farmers and increase the productivity of the agricultural sector.
The plan includes 73 projects, of which
45 to be implemented in 2022, for which a total of JD389 million were allocated.
It is based on five main objectives
that are: improving the farmers’ living conditions, increasing the productivity
of the agricultural sector, improving the efficiency of irrigation and saving
water, creating job opportunities in the agricultural sector, and establishing
partnerships with and securing investment from the private sector.
MP Mohammad Al-Alagmeh, head of the
Lower House’s Agriculture and Water Committee, praised the plan, describing it
as a step in the right direction.
Alagmeh said that the committee members
will follow up on the implementation of the plan and hold periodical meetings
to check on its progress.
Audeh Rawashdeh, president of the
General Union of Jordanian Farmers (GUJF), commended the strategy which, he said, is the
result of endeavors and calls to improve the agricultural sector and address the
challenges it faces.
Those endeavors are spearheaded by the
directives to focus on the sector and invest in it, issued by His Majesty
King Abdullah, as well as by His Majesty’s continuous field visits, during which he
checked on the farmer’s situation and listened from them, said Rawashdeh.
He asked concerned authorities for loan
forgiveness, in the case of loans taken by farmers from the Agricultural Credit
Corporation, to help them start over and be able remain in the sector after 10
year of struggling due to the closure of traditional markets as a result of
regional crises.
On the ground, the agricultural
sector has not seen anything new for decades and problems increase annually,
whether in terms of legislation, laws or climate changes, GUJF General Manger
Mahmoud Al-Oran said, adding that the sector needs overall restructuring, as
well as studying the priorities and needs of each of its segments.
According to Oran, it will not be
easy to implement this plan because there are overlaps with many official
authorities, such as the ministries of water, environment, industry and trade,
and the Greater Amman Municipality.
These institutions should coordinate
with the Ministry of Agriculture and join efforts to make the plan
implementable by removing any obstacles from their sides, such as reducing
taxes and finding sustainable water solutions, Oran said.
“The Ministry of Agriculture should
be the only authority responsible for the sector and no decision, fee or
legislation should be passed without the ministry’s approval”, said Oran.
He called for forming a partnership
council, including members from all concerned bodies, to reach insightful
decisions that would achieve the set objective without favoring a segment at
the expense of another.
The plan’s five objectives include
reducing the production cost through controlling prices of agricultural input
such as pesticides and fertilizers, and granting concessional loans with not
interests.
Farmer Ibrahim Sharif expressed hope
that the plan gets implemented and its outcome will be reflected on the ground
soon.
Regarding loans, Sharif said that,
like himself, many farmers cannot apply for anymore loans as they already have
taken some and currently struggle with paying them back.
“We took loans few years ago because
of a crisis caused by a natural disaster that hit our farms, and we are still
dealing with those loans, which were rescheduled many times and whose value
increased tremendously,” said Sharif.
During a visit to North Ghor (northern
Jordan Valley) on Monday, His Majesty King Abdullah stressed the importance of
benefiting from modern technology in the agricultural field, and finding
effective solutions to mitigate the effects of water scarcity.
His Majesty noted that a number of Arab
countries expressed willingness to invest in the Jordanian agricultural sector,
out of concern for food security, which is an important Jordanian and regional
goal, pointing to the need for coordination in this regard, since the necessary
capabilities to achieve this goal are available.
The King urged the people of the
region to submit proposals on projects and ideas that would help boost the
agricultural sector and that would be adopted as projects to be implemented by
various institutions.
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