Ammon News - Minister of Agriculture, Khaled Hneifat said Tuesday that the agricultural sector has a significant impact on the national economy, as agriculture economic growth rose from 2.7% to 8.2% during the first half of 2023, while 15% of employment is concentrated in the agricultural sector which represents about 20% of the Jordanian economy.

Hneifat added in a press conference on Tuesday that the Ministry of Agriculture supported many local agriculture industries to raise local agriculture production and increase dependence of Jordanian agriculture industries, noting that a capital expenditure of JD30 million was made on the agricultural sector in 2023, and JD40 million for the year 2024.

He stressed that although Jordan is among the poorest countries in terms of water, at the same time Jordan ranks highly, as our production reaches 90 countries, and Jordan leads the Arab countries in seed production.

About 550 vacancies were provided for engineers and veterinarians, thus raising the percentage of technicians and professionals to about 43%, the Minister stated.

The ministry was able to direct the increase of the lending portfolio from JD70 million to about JD115 million, which is an unprecedented number, and within two years, JD160 million were loaned to farmers, he added.

The Minister also noted that 15 new agreements were signed last year to establish 11 agricultural industries factories in industrial cities and development areas.

He explained that the Ministry of Agriculture seeks to benefit from rainwater collection in dams, earthen excavations, and wells, as it supported the construction of 2,000 water collection wells on agricultural lands and home gardens, and 115 dams and earthen excavations.