Second Jordan Valley produce festival kicks off

AMMAN — The second Southern Jordan Valley Agricultural Festival kicked off on Thursday to stimulate the local agricultural sector, a statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

Minister of Agriculture and Environment Ibrahim Shahahdeh inaugurated the two-day festival held in Ghor Al Mazraa, organised by the Southern Valley Agriculture Directorate.

The festival aims at supporting and marketing the Jordanian agricultural products, according to Petra.

During the ceremony, Shahahdeh highlighted the ministry’s support for the private associations dedicated to improving the local agricultural produce.

He reaffirmed that the ministry will continue its support and protection of local products.

Additionally, the ministry will also continue supporting fodder and agricultural inputs, he added, to further enable local farmers.

The festival saw the participation of 60 agricultural associations and companies along with local farmers, Shahahdeh said.

The “wide” participation of the agricultural sector reflects the competitiveness of Jordanian farmers and their capability to access any market, he asserted.

Jordan, before the Syrian crisis, used to export more than 250,000 tonnes of fruit and vegetables every year to Syria and Europe.

Jordan’s farmers and the entire agricultural sector have suffered huge losses since the border closures as the Kingdom’s annual production of fruit and vegetables at the time stood at around 2.5 million tonnes, 75 per cent of which was produced in winter and half of which was destined for exporting, according to the statement.