Mercy Corps distributes 1st batch of microgrants to smallholder olive farmers

AMMAN — Mercy Corps, under the Jordan HortiFuture programme, released the first batch of microgrants for olive smallholder farmers on May 14. 

The signing ceremony with smallholder farmers took place at The National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC), and was attended by grantees, NARC and MC staff.

Jordan Hortifuture has granted 17 micro, in-kind grants in the form of cash transfers to olive producers who have completed GAP training and have shown a commitment to be early adopters of good agricultural practices, according to a Mercy Corps statement. 

The grant was designed to encourage farmers to invest in farming efficiency, productivity, product added value and reduce production expenses. The selection criteria developed for choosing grantees mainly depended on farmers’ commitments in HortiFuture’s GAP training, cost-efficiency and the significant impact of low-investment initiatives to modernise farms. All 17 sub-grantees were chosen from the project’s target locations in Ajloun and Irbid.

In his speech, Nizar Haddad, director-general of NARC, said that by providing these microgrants to smallholder farmers, the project aims to support their efforts to modernise their farms and performance, and increase their competitiveness in the marketplace. 

Tala Momani, Mercy Corps’ Senior Agricultural and Value Chain Advisor, stated: “We believe that efficient water management is a crucial aspect of sustainable farming, and we hope that these microgrants will help farmers to adopt better water management practices, in addition to other good agricultural practices. Investing in smallholder farmers is key to promoting inclusive economic growth and sustainable development in Jordan’s agricultural sector.”

The HortiFuture Programme, led by Mercy Corps in partnership with Wageningen University & Research, and Advance Consulting and funded by the Dutch embassy, aims to strengthen the broader horticulture sector across the whole value chain and improve the income opportunities and longer-term resilience of smallholder farmers in Balqa, Irbid, Ajloun and the Jordan Valley.