JEDCO signs 150 agreements to support rural agriculture

AMMAN — The Jordan Enterprise Development Corporation (JEDCO) announced on Thursday that it had signed 150 agreements related to the Rural Finance Development and Employment Programme (REGEP).

The agreements were signed during a ceremony under the patronage of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply’s Secretary General Yousef Shamali, according to a statement sent to The Jordan Times.

In the statement, Shamali said: “REGEP is a promising initiative for the development of economic projects that align with the strategy of ‘The reduction of poverty and unemployment in Jordan for the years 2013-2020’, which focuses on the reduction of poverty, vulnerability and inequality in rural areas.”

The agreements were signed by JEDCO’s acting CEO Mohammad Mheiratand and the projects’ representatives.

The implementation of the development activities will be done in cooperation with the Jordan River Foundation.

Mheiratand said: “REGEP aims at [supporting] the development of agricultural projects to integrate small-scale farmers in value chains and improve their opportunities to get needed funding in rural areas.”

The JEDCO CEO added that “104 of the agreements were granted… in order to support productive agricultural projects in the governorates of Balqa, Ajloun, Jerash, Mafraq and Madaba, at a total value of $381,000”.

The statement added that REGEP is funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development.