Agriculture minister attends contract farming season opening

AMMAN — Minister of Agriculture Khalid Hneifat on Monday  attended the opening  of the contract farming season with farmers of the Jordanian Palestinian Company for Marketing Agricultural Products.

The ceremony featured the participation of Hungary’s Ambassador to the Kingdom Attila Kali, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra. Hneifat said that the company, after the opening of its headquarters in Amman last April and its branch in Palestine last August, has completed contracts with a number of countries, including: Hungary, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Romania, Austria and France. Director General of the Jordanian-Palestinian Company for Marketing Agricultural Products, Alaa Al Din Abu Al Khair, said that about 13 farms, with 1,000 greenhouses, signed contracts to grow crops.

The crops include coloured and Hungarian peppers, cherry tomatoes, strawberries and baby cucumbers. Abu Al Khair stressed that the company has a “crystal clear marketing plan” and mechanisms to communicate with farmers. The company is currently marketing Medjool dates, olive oil, strawberries and other products under its own brands in the European, Asian and Gulf markets, he added.