Agriculture Minister Khalid Hneifat of Jordan said that the ministry is working on establishing a national seed bank to preserve local and indigenous seeds in cooperation with Hashemite University, which donated JD3 million to fund the project.
His remarks were made on Monday during a media forum organized by the Centre for Defending the Freedom of Journalists (CDFJ) in cooperation with Zain.
Hneifat also noted that wheat cultivation in Jordan in a “self-sufficient” manner requires roughly one billion cubic meters of water. Meanwhile, the agricultural sector consumes 50 percent of Jordan’s water budget, amounting to 3 billion cubic meters annually.
He also described studies concerning the danger of food security in Jordan as “inaccurate,” adding that the Kingdom ranked 49th internationally on the 2021 Global Food Security Index, an improvement of 15 places since 2019.
Hneifat pointed out the economic significance of the agricultural sector, as it represents roughly 15 percent of the country’s overall exports, which reach more than 60 countries.
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