AMMAN — Paving the way for new prospects for sustainable agriculture and municipal development, the Ministry of Agriculture on Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Municipal Services and Social Resilience Project (MSSRP) with the aim of co-creating agriculture initiatives across the Kingdom’s municipalities.

The aim of the MoU is to promote sustainable agriculture development through agricultural practices that involve the community in production practices, thereby bolstering local economies and catalysing social change.

The signing ceremony was attended by ministry representatives, heads of municipalities, World Bank and Dar Abu Abdullah representatives.

During the signing ceremony, Minister of Agriculture Khaled Hneifat underscored the need to invest in agriculture initiatives with the greatest possible added value. 

MSSRP is funded by the Canadian, UK and Netherlands governments along with the USAID through a multi donor trust fund managed by the World Bank and will be implemented by a Project Management Unit headed by MSSRP Project Director Tawfiq Khawatreh.

In remarks to The Jordan Times, Khawatreh said that the MoU seeks to invest in municipality-owned assets and other existing assets to enable the establishment of specialised agricultural initiatives. 

“The MSSRP seeks to establish a municipal culture through upholding the four key elements of human development…food, energy, water and the environment.” Khawatreh highlighted.

He noted that the project is currently implementing a hydroponics project with Dar Abu Abdullah in Zaatari.

Taking into consideration the shared ambition to develop a broad cooperation in the agricultural field, the MoU has a multi-purpose approach that includes development and humanitarian dimensions, Khawatreh added. 

“It is crucial that we present municipalities as active actors that implement and manage their own sustainable agriculture projects,”

Through the implementation of the municipal agriculture initiatives, various employment opportunities will be generated, according to Khawatreh.