FAO in Jordan
Jordan joined the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) as a member nation in 1951; a country office was established in 1977 and later upgraded to a fully-fledged representation in 2015. Since then, FAO has been providing technical and financial assistance towards more sustainable agriculture and rural sectors of the country. The crisis in Syria has deeply affected the entire sub-region, and FAO has been supporting Jordan respond to the impact of the crisis on food security, nutrition, agriculture, natural resources and livelihoods.
FAO has substantial efforts in Jordan in promoting climate resilient and sustainable agriculture and food security. Itprovides independent advice on technical issues and play a catalytic role based on the comparative advantage in providing high quality technical assistance and implementing innovative approaches for a sustainable and transformative food systems.
FAO’s support focuses on agricultural and rural development, resilience and sustainable natural resource management as follows:
Promoting sustainable agricultural and rural development
Activities included support to agricultural production systems to overcome production and marketing constraints, boosting investment in agriculture, assessing small-scale family farmers and entrepreneurs in their efforts to reduce production costs, increase quality, and overcome post-harvest barriers and improving food safety. In addition to strengthening the capacities of agricultural cooperatives, in particular women and youth groups, and private sector while facilitating access to finance micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
Promoting sustainable management of natural resources
interventions included the application of climate smart agricultural technologies, with focus on food-water-energy nexus with efficient irrigation techniques and good agricultural practices; enhancing the capacity of regional water establishments to better plan and manage water resources for irrigation; and supporting sustainable forest management, in addition to clean energy.
Enhancing the resilience of communities hosting displaced Syrians
Investments in agricultural infrastructure and agri-food value chains are being promoted with a view to generate employment and other livelihood opportunities, particularly in main agricultural regions where most host communities are located. Through its disaster risk reduction (DRR) activities, FAO seeks to protect development investments and livelihoods from shocks including pests and diseases management, to make food production systems more resilient and more capable of absorbing the impact of, and recovering from, disruptive events.
FAO’s interventions in Jordan are framed by the 2024-2028 FAO Country Programming Framework (CPF). The CPF includes four main strategic priorities aligned with three UNSDCF Outcomes:
- Priority I: Enhance smallholder farmers’ productivity and market access via digitalization.
- Priority II: Foster evidence-based agricultural policies through sustainable governance of food systems.
- Priority III: Improve the sustainable management of fragile natural resources, strengthen DRR/DRM, and enhance early warning capabilities.
- Priority IV: Establish a regional hub for food security and agricultural investment.
The new CPF Programme marks a transition to a programmatic approach adopted by FAO to work more strategically, efficiently, and effectively in supporting Jordan. It adopts a food systems approach to drive transformative development in the agrifood sector.