Beneficiaries in Jordan presenting food produced with FAO support during World Food Day celebration under the patronage of HRH Princess Basma.

15^th October 2017, Amman, - The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Jordan has commemorated World Food Day with a celebration under the patronage of Her Royal Highness Princess Basma Bint Talal.

World Food Day – celebrated yearly on 16 October – marks the foundation of FAO and aims at raising awareness of the status of food security globally. This year’s theme is “Change the future of migration. Invest in food security and rural development”.

This theme comes at a time where there are more migrants in the world than there have ever been since the end of World War II. It is worth noting that people living in rural areas are more likely to migrate if their livelihoods are threatened or due to the effects of climate change or political conflict.

A large share of migrants comes from rural areas where more than 75% of the world’s poor and food insecure depend on agriculture and natural resource-based livelihoods. Most immigration, whether international or internal, originates in the Middle East and North Africa, Central Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe.

This year’s World Food Day is especially important for the Jordanian context, since the country’s economy is influenced and driven largely by immigrants. In Jordan, there are over 1.4 million Syrian refugees whilst the total population of Jordan is close to 10 million. The country is also hosting large numbers of migrants from other countries, such as Egypt, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and Bangladesh, who come searching for jobs. In addition, many refugees from other countries have settled in Jordan, looking for safety and security.

FAO Jordan’s World Food Day celebration hosted a number of Jordanian and immigrant beneficiaries displaying their commodities produced with the support of FAO projects and programs.