First National Conference on Food Security kicks off

AMMAN — The first National Conference on Food Security kicked off on Saturday, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Officials from the Food and Drug Administration, the Jordan Standards and Metrology Organisation, the Jordan Chamber of Industry, the Jordan Enterprise Development Cooperation, and the Agricultural Credit Corporation attend the event.

Minister of Agriculture Khalid Hneifat said that convening the conference came at a time when the countries, including Jordan, are facing unprecedented challenges facing food security, most notably climate change, population growth resulting from successive arrivals of refugees, high demand for food and water scarcity.

The COVID pandemic disrupted production in all economic sectors and supply chains, followed by the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, which directly affected food supplies, especially grains, oils and fertilisers, fuel prices, and service costs, he said.

The minister referred to the concepts presented by His Majesty in the Borlaug Dialogue during the coronavirus pandemic, which became a roadmap to confront crises and their impact on food security.

The government adopted these concepts and developed the national strategy for food security, which was prepared to materialise the Royal vision, he said.

Agriculture is an essential pillar of food security, and constitutes a high percentage of total Jordanian workforce, he said.

Food security still receives the attention of politicians, planners and agricultural executives, he noted, stressing that the common concern for achieving food security remains an essential matter for everyone.

All parties are required to exert more efforts to develop the agricultural sector to ensure that needs of basic materials are met, taking into account demographic growth and changing consumption patterns, he urged.

He called for an increase in agricultural production and promotion of the transition to food systems that are compatible with nutritional, economic and social conditions.