Ammon – The Jordan Chamber of Industry celebrated the Nomu project for the development of agro-food industries “Prospects”, funded by the Dutch government and the International Labor Organization.
And the Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply, Youssef Al-Shamali, said during his sponsorship of the ceremony; Improving the work environment and enhancing productivity are strategic goals, since the relationship between these two elements is reciprocal in industrial establishments.
He added that the government’s realization of the relationship between the work environment and productivity is a necessity for people to enjoy comprehensive and sustainable development and a decent life, pointing to the government’s development of a set of tools for the advancement of the economy, foremost of which is the vision of economic modernization as a practical endeavor in human development, and encouragement of leadership and innovation.
He stressed that the food industry sector enjoys royal attention, due to its importance in supporting the national economy, providing job opportunities, and achieving the desired food security.
The representative of the food and catering industries sector in the Jordan Chamber of Industry, Muhammad al-Jaitan, said that what the chamber has accomplished in cooperation with the International Labor Organization within the “Prospects” growth project aims to enhance the level of productivity of a number of establishments in the agro-food industries sector, as it is one of the most prominent Jordanian industrial sectors in the national economy. .
He added, “The project is in line with the Chamber’s role in contributing to raising the competitiveness of the sector and taking care of the interests of all institutions in it, as the cooperation culminated in providing financial and technical support to a group of selected companies wishing to develop their production operations, based on their need for this support, which came on a scientific and systematic basis within mechanisms.” It was selected by experts in this field.
And he indicated that the Chamber, in partnership with the project, prepared a position paper that clarified a number of challenges facing the sector’s establishments, and many recommendations that could contribute to raising the sector’s productivity, indicating that the challenges were the cornerstone for the formation of the economic modernization vision initiatives for the food industry sector, represented in The country’s adoption of a national tracking system for meat, dairy and cheese products, with the aim of adopting Jordan as an export market for the European Union and the United States.
He pointed out that every dinar spent in the food security system contributes to the production of more than 2.55 dinars within the national economy, while the sector is distinguished by its production capabilities that exceeded $5.64 billion, representing 40 percent as an added value, estimated at about 5 percent of the GDP. Total.
He stated that the good reputation achieved by the sector’s products enabled it to enter more than 88 markets around the world, with a value that exceeded $831 million in 2022.
Shatha Al-Jundi, Executive Director of the “Prospects” project of the International Labor Organization, said that increasing productivity is the cornerstone for promoting comprehensive economic growth, achieving sustainable development and generating decent job opportunities.
She added that the organization entered into a partnership with the Chamber at the beginning of 2022 through the “Nomu” initiative to enhance productivity in the food industry sector in Jordan within the framework of the partnership program to improve the prospects of host communities and refugees funded by the Dutch government, which brings together a partnership between five international organizations, namely Labor International. UNICEF, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the World Bank, and the International Finance Corporation. This partnership focuses on education, training, employment, decent work, and social protection.
She explained that the agricultural food sector was chosen as one of the most important local industrial sectors, and a pillar of Jordanian food security, as it directly links agricultural products to the food industry, which leads to an increase in the added value of these products.
And she indicated that the growth included three main activities: studying the factors affecting the productivity of the food, catering, agricultural and livestock industries sector, building the capabilities of the concerned team in the Jordan Chamber of Industry to provide the best services related to productivity, and providing direct material and technical support to a group of small and medium companies in the food industry sector to raise productivity and improve the work environment.
The Chargé d’Affaires of the Dutch Embassy in Jordan, Pierre Debris, affirmed his government’s commitment to contributing to strengthening the capabilities of the private sector in Jordan, through a set of projects that enhance and provide a business-friendly environment, and finance the competitive capabilities of small and medium-sized companies and entrepreneurs.
The head of the Jordan and Amman Chambers of Industry, Fathi Al-Jaghbir, said that the importance of the project and its results reflect two important axes, which are the sustainability of the industrial companies through their investment in costs related to developing their work mechanisms and methodologies in a way that raises their competitiveness, and comprehensive sustainability in the industrial sector, by applying the results of any A program on all industrial sectors, by transferring the knowledge and executive skills of any project to the Chamber’s employees, enabling them to work on developing and applying the results of the project to the rest of the industrial sectors.
Al-Jaghbir stressed the Chamber’s keenness to continue dedicating all efforts to the advancement of the national industry.
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