Fakhoury chairs meeting of higher ministerial committee of agricultural census

AMMAN — The higher ministerial committee of agricultural census, headed by Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury, on Wednesday held a meeting with representatives of the agriculture sector.

The meeting aimed to outline the initial results and progress of the census, a Planning Ministry statement said.

The census is among the government’s efforts to provide up-to-date data that would help studying the situation of the sector and facilitate support to it, the statement said.

During the meeting, Fakhoury stressed the importance of the agriculture and the food industry as interconnected sectors, which are part of the development clusters included in the Jordan Document 2025 that aim to realise the goals of food security.

Fakhoury underscored the importance of the census as it will be a “cornerstone and an accurate reference” for drafting future policies and plans for water, agriculture, food security and other relevant fields.

The minister voiced appreciation for the efforts of the Department of Statistics (DoS) in providing data that are based on international standards.

He stressed the importance of maintaining the independence of the department and sustaining the governmental support to enhance its credibility.

 For his part, DoS Director General Qasim Zu’bi outlined the preparations for the survey since it was approved by the government in 2016, plans, training of staff, and the achievements.

Zu’bi, who is also the agricultural census’ national director, said the field part of the census is expected to be finished by the end of March.

He said that announcing the final results will be in the beginning of April, according to the statement.

The committee includes the ministers of water and irrigation, interior, agriculture, industry and trade and minister of state for media affairs.

The Cabinet has approved the agricultural census’ starting date as of May 2017, and ordered the formation of a higher ministerial committee headed by Fakhoury.