AMMAN — President of the
Jordan Farmers Union Ibrahim Al-Sharif demanded the government to exempt production supplies
from fees and taxes to help farmers cope with the significant rise in their
prices globally, Jo24 reported.
اضافة اعلان
He charged that the government “has no vision for
next season”, and claimed that farmers are at risk. “Our concern is that
farmers would not be able to continue under the current circumstances,” he
said.
“We need urgent solutions from the government,” he
added.
He said farmers want to see a “clear vision” in
dealing with the agricultural sector and “we have several issues that need
government decisions, most notably the
issue of employment and the inclusion of
expatriate workers in social security, as well as the water issue, which has
affected production.”
In a related development, banana farmers in the
Jordan Valley said that flooding the market with imported Ecuadorian banana
will put the market in a knot, Al-Ghad News reported. The government sanctioned
banana imports, revoking an import fee, which the price of imported banana into
direct competition with the local produce.
According to farmers, local bananas cannot compete
with the low price of the imported product. They said only a segment of
importers benefitted from what they described as an “unjust move”.
Member of the Banana Farmers Association, Mohammed
Abu Tabekh, said that locally-produced bananas are harvested in two peak period
during the year, namely mid-September until January and mid-March to mid-June.
“Although the local product during these two stages is
sufficient to cover the need of the local market, huge amounts of banana are
being imported, which is damaging to farmers and traders alike,” he said.
Read more National news
Jordan News
.jpg)
.jpg)
