The Ministry of Agriculture on Wednesday launched an insurance inclusion and agricultural risk financing project in partnership with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the German Government, and the Insurance Development Forum. The project, initiated through the UNDP’s Insurance and Risk Finance Facility (IRFF), aims to increase the role of insurance and risk financing in development and highlight the importance of integrated solutions for insurance, risk financing, and investment. It also seeks to enhance the resilience of start-ups, smallholders, and producers against production risks and climate change effects, encourage the private sector to participate in agricultural sector development, increase farmers’ access to financing, and strengthen the Central Bank of Jordan’s role in establishing institutional governance related to inclusive insurance and risk-financing and conducting financial inclusion policies. During the ceremony, Agriculture Minister Khaled Hneifat said the National Plan for Sustainable Agriculture has helped develop the agriculture sector despite prolonged regional and climate crises that urged a system that reduces risks in agricultural investments. He said the project aligns with national reforms and the need to shift to a sustainable economic activity that accounts for environmental and social changes and involves youth, women, civil society institutions, and research and scientific centers. The National Plan for Sustainable Agriculture, he went on, has addressed numerous challenges through direct government financing and partnerships with global organizations. Randa Aboul-Hosn, the UNDP’s Resident Representative in Jordan, said the project is a safety net for people from crises, adding that the Program will help address barriers hindering the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The project’s launch came at a time local and global communities are combining efforts to achieve the SDGs to strengthen the protection of vulnerable communities from socio-economic, climate, and health-related disasters by significantly increasing the role of insurance and risk-financing in development.
Source: Jordan News Agency