Minister of Agriculture Khaled Hneifat met Wednesday with Luigi Cavestro, Amman office director of the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM Bari). Hneifat underlined the importance of enhancing cooperation between the two sides in sustainable agricultural development, livestock, natural resources, rural development and environmental sustainability, as CIHEAM Bari is one of the leading institutions in the Mediterranean region in the field of agricultural research and sustainable development. For his part, Cavestro stressed the importance of the existing cooperation between the two parties, pointing out that this meeting is an opportunity to enhance fruitful cooperation and capacity building in the Jordanian agricultural sector. The two sides discussed several issues, including preparing to sign rural women empowerment project which is intended to be funded by the Italian Agency for Development and Cooperation (AICS) through the CIHEAM Bari and following up on the necessary approvals from the Italian side on the project proposal submitted by the Ministry of Agriculture to the AICS, entitled Improving Food Security and and creating jobs through developing value chains for rural products and increasing the efficiency of utilization of available local resources” at a total cost estimated at JD1.326 million, and agreeing to developing a clear plan of action for joint cooperation between the two sides to support the livestock sector, rural development and forests. They discussed procedures for preparing a proposal for the second phase of the project to enhance competitiveness and sustainable innovation for small and medium agricultural projects, which is currently being implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Industry, as they agreed to prepare a draft for the second phase that includes a special clause to provide support to small farmers and build their capacities through the establishment of specialized agricultural cooperative societies, in addition to food processing and the permanent exhibition of agricultural products in Irbid. The meeting also covered measures taken by the Ministry to support hosting the headquarters of the International Center for Higher Agricultural Studies in the Mediterranean, and both officials agreed to follow up on procedures related to hosting the headquarters with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates.
Source: Jordan News Agency