Building on the King's meeting with agricultural sector representatives

His Majesty King Abdullah's recent meeting with representatives of the agricultural sector was exceptionally important, simply because it is, at the end of the day, about food security; a highly vital issue worldwide, especially in light of COVID-related developments and repercussions.اضافة اعلان

During the meeting, His Majesty called for "establishing agricultural training centers across Jordan to build the capacities of farmers and empower them to use technology to increase production while ensuring the best utilization of resources," drawing attention to "the need to identify the sector’s priorities and the obstacles facing progress, in order to implement more projects and better serve farmers and create job opportunities." He also stressed "the importance of enhancing public-private partnerships in the agricultural sector."

These directives, in one way or another, constitute the nucleus of a strategy aimed at reinvigorating the farming sector, which has struggled over the past two years on the backdrop of the coronavirus crisis — hence the need for a serious, well-articulated follow-up plan by the government.

First, the ministries of agriculture and water and irrigation, along with other concerned agencies, should be the owners of such a plan, with one major objective: To address the sector's woes and shortages, bearing in mind the need to employ the latest technologies in the field to tackle various challenges.

They also need to make sure that the crop selection is suitable for small and large-scale farming alike, and, naturally, can meet the needs of the local, regional, and international markets.

This logically leads to the fact that the investment promotion in agriculture is of paramount significance. The benefits are countless, but job generation is the main trophy of success in this pursuit. Additionally, investors will bring with them strategic tools that will have a huge impact on the quality and size of the harvests.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) will not only be in the traditional aspect of farming, but will also go directly to offset all the gaps in horticulture, floriculture, seed development, animal rearing, services, and other allied sectors. Most importantly, we need FDI in food industries that rely on the outcomes of our farming sector.

This will create a positive reality for farmers.

Officials must also look into the impact of this plan on the environment.

Agriculture can be a blessing or a curse to nature. If we insist on using harmful insecticides, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides, the damage to the environment will be huge, while if we follow the best practices, we are talking about solutions to problems related to soil quality, erosion, and water preservation.

It goes without saying that the plan should take into consideration other key factors, including the need for a holistic approach to the issue, capitalizing on the relative advantages of certain areas, supporting farmers financially and technically to pre-empt or mitigate the risks inherent in the sector, activating risk funds, exempting agricultural production inputs from fees and taxes, replacing traditional energy with the cheaper alternative means of power generation, focusing on crops that need less water, using modern irrigation techniques, and paying more attention to climate change.

The King's directives should be translated into a roadmap.

Enough is enough with spontaneous, unplanned, and short-lived action. It should also be emphasized here that the Ministry of Agriculture is not the only party responsible for this mission, as the sector is overlapping with many others.

Finally, it is a fact that Jordanians tend to shun jobs in agriculture.

This is a big issue that needs adequate attention and action, especially when there are half a million unemployed local workers, while there are a million guest workers in the country, according to official figures.

The Agriculture Ministry has announced a plan to replace foreign labor in the agricultural sector with local workers.

The scheme, which will focus on the Jordan Valley, will commence mid-September at a cost of JD5 million. This is a promising start. Let's build on that.

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