Amman: Ministry of Agriculture on Wednesday signed an agreement to establish a regional office for Arab Center for the Studies of Arid Zones and Dry Lands (ACSAD), which is affiliated with the Arab League.
During the signing ceremony, Minister of Agriculture, Khaled Hneifat, said presence of an ACSAD regional office in Jordan constitutes an “important” step to support and develop the Kingdom’s agricultural sector, and helps it implement its development plans.
Hneifat also noted need for studies and projects that support dealing with water to increase green areas and livestock, in the context of climate change and its “huge” impact.
For his part, ACSAD Director General, Dr. Nasr Edin Obaid, said Jordan is one of the first Arab countries to sign an agreement to host an ACSAD office, adding that joint cooperation relations have “never stopped, but rather are constantly expanding and developing.”
Obaid pointed to implementation of a number of joint development projects, primarily rehabilitating degraded lands
in Jordanian Badia regions by using rainwater harvesting techniques, and establishing pilot areas in Sabha, Subhiya, and Sarra areas, aimed to protect Mafraq Badia from the effects of irrigation and water erosion.
Additionally, Obaid noted projects also seek to manage irrigation water using AquaCrop-based mathematical modeling, reduce camel calf mortality and develop palm production and quality in the Arab region.
He also referred to plans to develop high-yielding varieties of wheat and barley to deal with biotic and abiotic stress, provide the ministry with olive tree and fruit seedlings and launch integrated management of palm weevil control.
Source: Jordan News Agency