Amman — In a region where crises are accelerating and supply-chain disruptions intersect with climate change, water scarcity and regional tensions, food security in Jordan is no longer a separate agricultural or supply issue. It has increasingly become part of the broader concept of national security, risk management and crisis preparedness.
اضافة اعلان
Government data this year show that Jordan has strengthened its ability to cope with supply disruptions, benefiting from a policy of building strategic reserves, diversifying import sources and coordinating between the government and private sector.
However, the success of stock management raises a more pressing question: To what extent can Jordan move from securing food through imports and storage toward sustainably increasing its ability to produce a larger share of its needs locally?
The latest data released by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply show that actual wheat stocks in warehouses stood at around 610,000 tonnes last August, enough to cover domestic consumption for 6.4 months. An additional 302,000 tonnes had been contracted and were in transit, raising total coverage to around 9.6 months.
For barley, existing stocks stood at 609,000 tonnes, with another 220,000 tonnes contracted, bringing total coverage to approximately 9.5 months.
For other essential food commodities, stock levels ranged from approximately two to four months.
Proactive Policy
These figures come within the framework of a proactive policy adopted by the government in recent months, particularly amid continuing regional instability and the possibility of disruptions to trade and supply routes.
Prime Minister Jafar Hassan, while chairing a meeting of the Higher Council for Food Security last March, stressed the need to strengthen strategic reserves, monitor markets and prices, and prevent monopolistic practices. Relevant authorities also confirmed that stocks of essential commodities were secure and sufficient for several months.
However, regardless of how large stocks become, they do not by themselves constitute food security. Food security also depends on people’s ability to access food, price stability, quality and the sustainability of production sources, as well as the state’s ability to deal with long-term crises that may extend beyond temporary shipping or import disruptions.
The latest findings of the 2026 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report point to improvements in several indicators in Jordan.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the percentage of the population unable to afford a healthy diet fell to 2.2% in 2025, compared with 2.3% in 2024. The stunting rate among children under five stood at 7.7% in 2024.
The adult obesity rate also declined from 38.5% in the 2022 data cited in the previous report to 35.4% in 2024.
These indicators provide a more complex picture than simply measuring food availability. A country may be able to ensure that essential commodities are available in the market, while the challenge remains ensuring that food is accessible, affordable and nutritionally adequate for all groups, particularly lower-income households.
On the production side, government policy is placing greater emphasis on grains and strategic crops. Last September, the Ministry of Agriculture announced that allocations for purchasing locally produced grains had been raised to JD 59 million, in a move aimed at boosting domestic production and encouraging farmers to expand cultivation of strategic crops.
Structural Constraints
This highlights one of the most important elements of Jordan’s food security equation: Can government support for grains be converted into sustainable growth in local production?
Jordan faces well-known structural constraints, foremost among them water scarcity and limited agricultural land, making full self-sufficiency in many commodities extremely difficult. A more realistic approach therefore appears to involve identifying strategically important commodities, increasing production efficiency, improving water use, reducing losses and diversifying import sources for goods that are difficult to produce domestically.
Jordan’s National Food Security Strategy 2021-2030 sets four main objectives: ensuring food availability, improving access to food, enhancing its stability and optimal use, and improving governance of the food security system.
The Ministry of Agriculture also continues to develop plans and programs linked to the strategy and monitor national food security indicators.
The structure of the Higher Council for Food Security also reflects the government’s broader approach to the issue. The council includes the ministries of agriculture; industry, trade and supply; water and irrigation; health; social development; finance; planning; environment; education; and human resources development, along with other institutions and representatives of the commercial and industrial sectors and farmers.
This overlap reflects the fact that food security cannot be achieved by a single ministry. Water determines the ceiling for agricultural production, while energy and transport affect food costs. Trade policies determine import sources, while subsidies and social protection influence households’ ability to access food. Domestic industry, meanwhile, determines the economy’s capacity to turn raw materials into food products.
The Next Test
Jordan’s next test is therefore not simply the number of months covered by its strategic reserves, but its ability to build a resilient food system capable of withstanding prolonged crises rather than temporary supply interruptions.
The challenge is becoming more significant amid climate change, which is placing increasing pressure on water and agricultural resources. Agricultural policies are therefore moving toward modern farming technologies, smart agriculture and improved water management, approaches the Ministry of Agriculture has emphasized as part of efforts to increase local production and narrow the food gap.
At the same time, the private sector remains a key partner in the food security equation, not only in importing and storing commodities but also in food manufacturing and supply chains.
The Jordan Chamber of Industry said during a meeting of the Higher Council for Food Security that local food industries cover approximately 65% of domestic market needs.
Accordingly, the current policy can be viewed as a gradual shift from the concept of an “emergency stockpile” toward a broader approach based on the resilience of the entire food system.
Maintaining large reserves provides the state with a safety margin against short-term shocks, but it does not eliminate the need for domestic production, address water, climate and price challenges, or by itself guarantee that households can afford food.
Going forward, the success of food policy will be increasingly measured by indicators such as increased domestic production of strategic crops, improved water-use productivity, reduced food losses and waste, stable prices for essential commodities, improved access to healthy food for lower-income households, and continued diversification of import sources.
The question facing Jordan is therefore not simply: Do we have enough food for several months? It is: Do we have a food system capable of withstanding a crisis lasting months or even years?
If the answer is yes, Jordan’s food security can then be said to have moved from managing stocks to managing the future.
Source: Al Ghad
