Jordan Times
Thursday, August 26, 2004
King urges more efforts to
enhance the agricultural sector and create jobs for the youth
'Upgrade agro produce'
By Mahmoud Al Abed
AMMAN — Officials on Wednesday said projects sponsored by the Ministry of
Agriculture to help alleviate poverty in the rural and badia areas are gaining
momentum.
Plans under way to tackle poverty and unemployment in these underprivileged
areas were the focus of His Majesty King Abdullah's visit to the ministry
yesterday, where he urged “more efforts and more investments to enhance the
vital sector and create jobs for the Jordanian youth in particular.”
Minister of Water, Irrigation and Agriculture Hazem Nasser told The Jordan Times
that his ministry launched in the beginning of 2004 a three-year JD15 million
plan to help families in such areas start income-generating micro-agricultural
projects.
The Agricultural Credit Corporation, which funds the nationwide project, has
already dispersed JD4.5 million to such plans so far.
Projects receive such assistance in line with the nature of their locations and
agricultural potential.
For example, badia residents could get loans to rear livestock and plant grazing
areas, while in Ajloun, funds could go to water management projects.
“Generally, diversity is a major component of the plan,” Nasser said.
He briefed the King on mechanisms to implement the National Agricultural
Strategy and “new procedures to train Jordanian labour on related skills,
particularly in management.”
Government bodies will take part in the training process, including the
Vocational Training Corporation, which has set up courses for the youth in the
southern Jordan Valley, officials said.
There are 114,000 job opportunities in the agricultural sector, but analysts
have always spoken about low wages, lack of job security and benefits as
elements for discouraging Jordanians to join the labour force there, leaving the
field for guest labourers from Egypt, Iraq, Syria, India and Pakistan.
Hazem noted that 15 per cent of the country's population rely on income from the
various farming activities.
King Abdullah, the minister said, looks at the restructuring process under way
in the ministry and its various departments as a key factor to contribute to the
rehabilitation of the entire sector. “We have the backing of His Majesty the
King to go ahead with the process and overcome all the problems,” he said.
At the meeting, the Monarch urged the public and private sectors to cooperate in
stimulating the agricultural sector and in producing high quality products that
meet international requirements and specifications.