Ammon News -

Minister of Agriculture, Khaled Hneifat, participated on Wednesday, in the UN Food Systems Pre-Summit, which was held in the Italian capital, Rome.
The minister's participation in the pre-Summit gathering came in preparation for 2021 UN Food Systems Summit, which will be held next September in his capacity as the organizer of the national food systems dialogues.

In his speech at the 3-day meeting, the minister highlighted the importance of the food systems transformation and the outcomes of Jordan's related dialogues, which were held in the Kingdom, with the participation of the concerned authorities from the public sector, academics, the local community, industrialists, municipalities, farmers and students.

The minister stressed that Jordan's food system vision is based on directives of His Majesty King Abdullah II, who declared 2021 the year of food security.
Jordan, he noted, began working on launching the first Food Security Strategy 2021-2030, followed by preparation of an executive action plan, which is expected to be completed during August.

Food security and food systems issues are "crucial" in light of challenges identified by related dialogues aimed to forge a food security strategy, the minister pointed out.

Jordan, he affirmed, seeks to arrange its food systems transformation into "more efficient and sustainable" systems that contribute to increasing self-reliance, and improving access to healthy nutritional levels for all the Kingdom's population by 2030.

Priorities, amendments and decisions to be implemented during the next three years have been set, although Jordan is considered one of the poorest countries in terms of resources, especially in the water and energy areas, he told the Rome gathering.

The Kingdom, he said, is facing "increasing" economic challenges as a result of the region's turbulent conditions, which exposed Jordan to several waves of refugees, the latest was hosting about 1.3 million Syrian refugees.

To achieve a successful food systems transformation locally, he has adjusted priorities of the national agenda to include commitment of the government and other stakeholders to this process.