Hneifat: Jordan’s agricultural exports up by JD150mln in 2023

Amman: Minister of Agriculture, Khaled Hneifat, said Jordan saved JD434 million in its agricultural import bill in 2023, while the Kingdom's exports increased last year by JD150 million. Hneifat made the remarks at a ceremony held to launch 10 research groups for the year 2024 in University of Jordan (UJ)'s Faculty of Agriculture, specialized in agricultural fields. Hneifat stressed the importance of the Kingdom's agricultural sector as a "key" factor to ensure food security. Hneifat added that His Majesty King Abdullah II was the first to warn that the next dilemma after the Covid-19 pandemic would be a food security crisis. Despite Jordan is "the poorest" country in water resources and "highly" affected by climate change, he said the Kingdom produces 61% of its consumer needs, and its agricultural exports reach more than 100 countries globally. The minister added that Jordan is the 9th country in livestock exports, and the first Arab nation in seed production, attributing this progress to the scientifi c and research efforts and farmer-researcher cooperation in this field. On future action, he affirmed the ministry's continued support to agricultural scientific research under the agricultural entrepreneurship incubator at the National Agricultural Research Center (NARC), which has turned about 55 pioneering researches into businesses. Source: Jordan News Agency