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Ammon News - The first of a series of sessions discussing the 2020 Country Status Report kicked off on Monday with the participation of government officials and stakeholders.

The annual report, issued by the Economic and Social Council, aims at providing an overall look into sectors' strategies, and pinpointing shortcomings in the performance of ministries and public institutions, in addition to following up on recommendations and their implementation.

Two sessions via teleconferencing were held today focusing on the agriculture and water sectors, with the participation of the Minister of Agriculture, Khaled Hneifat, and a group of experts and specialists from the public and private sectors.

Secretary-General of the Council Mitri Madanat stressed that the economy faces water and agricultural challenges, indicating that the aim of the report is to propose improvements to government performance and enhance transparency.

The council, he noted, welcomes any comments and recommendations about the report to include them in for this year and discuss them with the concerned ministry.

Hneifat stated that the ministry has plans and strategies, but it is lacking the tools to carry them out. The ministry is working on a comprehensive plan to advance the agricultural sector, which has a major impact on the Jordanian economy, pointing to investment opportunities in the sector.

The agricultural sector faces a number of challenges, including water, marketing and manufacturing, he added.

The minister stressed the importance of providing foodstuffs at affordable prices, supporting local investors, and enhancing farmers' production inputs such as seeds, fertilizers and medicines.

Recommendations made to improve the agriculture sector include: introducing the latest technology in cooperation with the National Center for Agricultural Research, increasing in financial allocations for agricultural research in the center's budget and boosting the lending service to farmers, said Ziad Dardakah, the council's Financial Policy Coordinator.

Additionally, participants in the session proposed retaining experts with agricultural experience.

During the second session to discuss the water sector, participants highlighted challenges such as climate change and the water crisis and drought, underlining the need to expand water pits and raise budgets related to them and to rainwater harvesting.

They also proposed that Jordan upgrade its plans and approaches to keep pace with the challenges facing the water sector.

They suggested forming a crisis cell for the water sector that brings together experts and stakeholders under the Ministry of Water, in addition to training staff and leveraging the Water Diplomacy Center at the University of Science and Technology in negotiations with neighboring countries.

The Director of Strategic Planning at the Ministry of Water Rehab Tarawneh assured that the ministry will follow up on the recommendations in the report and address weaknesses.

In the upcoming weeks, the council will hold discussion sessions that bring together experts and stakeholders from the macro economy, infrastructure, human resources, community development (1), and community development (2) sectors and areas, in addition to discussing political development and the development of the public sector.