Jordan HortiFuture Project participates in 22nd National Olive Oil Festival

AMMAN — The Jordan HortiFuture Project is participating in the 22nd National Olive Festival and Rural Products Exhibition, which began on Thursday, November 24, and will run until December 3 at Mecca Mall.

The 22nd National Olive Festival is organised by the National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC), in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and many local and international partners. The festival features a variety of regional dishes and crafts as well as olive oil.

The Jordan HortiFuture Project is led by Mercy Corps in partnership with Wageningen University & Research and Advance Consulting, and funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, according to a Mercy Corps statement.

According to Nizar Haddad, NARC Director-General: “More than 500 farmers, associations, schools, companies and olive mills are taking part in the festival’s activities.” There will be laboratory tests on olive oil for quality assurance as per international standards, Haddad added. 

Harry Verweij, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, said: “Through the Jordan HortiFuture project and others, we work with our Jordanian partners to turn the olive oil sector into a business oriented, high quality and sustainable value chain that has immense potential not only in local markets, but also in regional and international ones.”

The Netherlands is also supporting NARC with the activities and implementation of the festival. 

“The festival is an ideal venue to increase market linkages, heighten public awareness, incentivise olive oil producers to improve the overall quality of their products, and drive the sale of olive oil and its relevant products across the governorate,” the statement said.