AMMAN —
Jordan and the World Bank on Tuesday signed a loan agreement for the Agriculture
Resilience, Value Chain Development, and Innovation (ARDI or “My Land”)
program, on the sidelines of the World Bank annual meetings in Washington, the
Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
اضافة اعلان
The $125 million
program, approved by the World Bank on September 29, aims to strengthen the
development of Jordan’s agriculture sector by enhancing its climate resilience,
increasing competitiveness and inclusion, and ensuring medium- to long-term
food security, in line with Jordan’s National Sustainable Agriculture Plan and
Vision for Economic Modernization.
From 2022 to 2027,
the program will provide some 30,000 farming households with financing to adopt
climate-smart and water-efficient agriculture practices, provide needs-based
training, and generate about 12,000 job opportunities, focusing on Jordanian
women and youth, the statement added.
The program will
also create economic opportunities for Syrian refugees.
Agriculture
accounts for approximately 20 percent of Jordan’s exports, yet only about half
of the export potential for fruits and vegetables was achieved.
Climate change
significantly worsens water scarcity and increases the risk of drought,
affecting agricultural productivity and rural livelihoods.
A set of structural
factors, such as the loss of key transport routes through Syria and lack of
investment in supply chain infrastructure, led to a decline in competitiveness
in local markets, and in exports.
According to
Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Nasser Al-Shraideh: “The
ARDI program supports key pillars of the National Sustainable Agriculture Plan
and Jordan’s Economic Vision 2033. It combines policy reform with significant
investments on the ground, and highlights Jordan’s commitment to creating an
enabling environment to transform the agriculture sector and realize its full
growth potential.
“The program
further supports achieving a set of cornerstone results, under the National
Plan for Sustainable Agriculture umbrella, to establish an adequate enabling
policy and investment environment for private sector-led growth in the
agriculture sector.”
The ARDI program is
aimed at addressing critical challenges facing the sector along two pillars:
“climate resilience and sustainability” and “competitiveness and exports”.
“Investing in
agricultural production and value chains can help serve a growing local market
and contribute to food security,” said regional World Bank director
Jean-Christophe Carret.
Carret added: “The
ARDI program will invest in building the skills and knowledge of women, youth, and
refugees to increase their employability and support the transition to formal
employment.”
The Ministry of
Agriculture, the National Agriculture Research Centre, and the Agriculture
Credit Corporation will implement the program under a whole-of-government
approach, involving other relevant line ministries and agencies.
The ARDI program is financed through a $95.6 million
contribution from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, a
$23.9 million grant from the Global Concessional Financing Facility, and a $5.5
million grant from the Partnership for Improving Prospects for Forcibly
Displaced Persons and Host Communities, supported by the Netherlands.
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