Environment Ministry, NARC join hands to conserve pollinator diversity

AMMAN — Minister of Environment Nabeel Masarweh, Secretary General of the Ministry of the Environment Mohammed Khashashneh and Director General of the National Agriculture Research Centre (NARC) Nizar Haddad, on Thursday discussed collaboration on a project destined to conserve pollinators' diversity in Jordan and other participating countries, namely: Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Turkey and Palestine, according to a NARC statement sent to The Jordan Times. 

The project will support climate change resilience in an economical and sustainable way, the statement said. It is jointly implemented by the NARC and the International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), according to the statement. 

The main objectives of the discussions were how farmers could increase agricultural production and reduce pesticide use, through using products free of pesticide residues, especially in open areas. 

The entrance into the International Alliance for the Protection of Wild Pollinators was also discussed. This will help Jordanian agricultural products compete in the global markets, as 80 per cent of agricultural crops depend on insect pollinators.

The NARC also implements many research experiments to help increase the agricultural production efficiency using insect pollinators.