Jordan Times published an article about recent announcement by Agriculture Minister Khalid Hneifat about establishing a national seed bank in cooperation with the Hashemite University to preserve local and indigenous seeds.
Minister noted that self-sufficient wheat cultivation requires approximately one billion cubic metres of water, while country’s agrisector utilises 50 per cent of Jordan’s water budget, amounting to 3 billion cubic metres annually.
State’s present wheat reserve can provide national consumption for 15 months and despite the global spike in wheat prices, bread prices remained unchanged in Jordan. The country’s food security is stable ranking 49th internationally on the 2021 Global Food Security Index.
Agrisector represents about 15 per cent of the country’s overall exports, with reaching more than 60 countries and contributing 5.5 per cent to GDP.
Different intrepreneurial and untraditional projects are widely supported as the Agricultural Credit Cooperation has provided roughly JD30 million loans. Agriculture Ministry is currently working on establishing a factory for the low-cost and water efficient COCOON agricultural technology, in cooperation with the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN) and the Arab Potash Company (APC) to improve the quality of production and its ability to compete globally of the agricultural sector.
The news original version is available here: http://jordantimes.com/news/local/agriculture-ministry-establish-national-seed-bank-%E2%80%94-hneifat
