AMMAN - The Ministry of Agriculture has already embarked on an ambitious five-year plan to transform the Kingdom's farming sector, with a focus on fodder, cereal grain and animal production.
According to the Ministry's Secretary General Radi Tarawneh, the plan, which will be implemented over the years 2009-2013, will be discussed at a meeting slated for December 21, to which the ministry will invite all stakeholders who are expected to come up with a draft document outlining challenges facing the agricultural sector and proposed solutions. The draft document will be presented to the Higher Agricultural Council and the Cabinet for action, he said.
"The ministry carried out several meetings between November 19-25 with community leaders and representatives from the public and private sectors in each of the Kingdom's governorates," Tarawneh told The Jordan Times, adding that the step comes in implementation of His Majesty King Abdullah's announcement that the year 2009 will be designated for agricultural development.
In October, the King said focus in 2009 will be placed on plans to improve and develop the agricultural sector and help farmers overcome the challenges facing them.
"The meetings were aimed at engaging stakeholders in the sector - farmers, livestock farmers, universities, parties, professional associations and unions - to determine the obstacles hindering agricultural development," Tarawneh said, noting that the meetings provided the content of the document detailing the ministry's plans and schemes to be implemented in cooperation with the private sector.
Tarawneh said a promising project is already under implementation by the Hashemite Fund for Badia Development under which 54,000 dunums will be planted with cereal grains and fodders.
The ministry has provided the project with top quality seeds at cost, while the Water and Irrigation Ministry has dug 18 artesian wells to secure the farms' needs of water, said the official. For its part, the Public Works and Housing Ministry opened new roads to facilitate transport to and from the project location.
"By the end of the current year, around 12,000 dunums will have been planted with wheat, barley and fodder, while the remaining land will be cultivated next year to contribute considerably to a planned increase of the country's reserve of grains," Tarawneh said.
Moreover, the Agriculture Ministry has launched a JD1 million plan to support a newly created Sharah Agricultural Directorate in Maan, where a total of 20,000 dunums will be cultivated and planted with grains. In addition, the ministry is taking steps to upgrade and develop the Fijeh Livestock Station in the area.
He added that the station's production of livestock will be used in sustaining the ministry's plans to provide needy families with enhanced bred goats.
Furthermore, the official said the ministry is keen to encourage farmers to grow cereal grain and fodder by paying each farmer JD5 for each dunum planted with grains, and will provide them with enhanced and sterile seeds at cost price. He added that the ministry will buy the farmer's harvest at international prices plus 25 per cent of the price.
Other plans seek to expand the Kingdom's 34 grazing reservations by six next year, he said. These zones will be planted with bushes and trees for grazing.
According to the secretary general, some of the obstacles highlighted in the meetings with stakeholders include shortages in cereal crops such as wheat, barley and fodder and irrigation water scarcity in addition to urban expansion at the expense of farmland.
According to Tarawneh, the draft document will also include amendments to pieces of legislation governing the sector. The ministry will work to accelerate the enactment of a draft law on the establishment of an agriculture chamber of commerce and another to create an agricultural risk fund, while it seeks to introduce amendments to the Farmers' Union Law.
Once the draft document is final, the official said, it will be publicised at a nationwide meeting expected to take place in early 2009.
The development plans, Tarawneh concluded, are the first step towards developing and alleviating the sector to increase its humble direct contribution to GDP, which currently stands at only 3 per cent.
By Hani Hazaimeh
© Jordan Times 2008
