Khaberni - Minister of Agriculture, Saieb Khreisat, confirmed that Jordan is food secure and stable despite the challenges and the surrounding regional conditions, noting that it has managed to overcome obstacles and maintain the pace of growth and continue implementing developmental projects.
Khreisat said during his sponsorship of the closing ceremony on Wednesday for the competition of innovative small green projects in Jordan, organized by the Jordanian Association for Scientific Research, Entrepreneurship and Creativity, in cooperation with the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, that the competition represents the culmination of the association's efforts over the past years in creating a supportive incubator for innovative projects that contribute to developing agricultural, environmental, industrial, and other sectors.
He added that Jordan has achieved qualitative achievements on a global level, despite the limited natural resources, indicating that it is endowed with distinguished intellectual and scientific human resources that contributed to placing it among the ranks of advanced countries.
He mentioned that despite the scarcity of water, challenges, and regional disturbances, Jordan has always been and will remain a haven of security and stability, thanks to its leadership and the efficiency of its men, women, and creative youth, emphasizing that human capital represents the true source of pride and the driver of national achievement.
On his part, the President of the Association, Reda Al-Khawaldeh, said that this initiative formed a quality platform to support innovation and enhance sustainability concepts in the small and medium-sized project sector, pointing out that it provided a real opportunity for entrepreneurs to present their ideas in the fields of the green economy, and benefit from training and mentoring programs, and financial and technical support.
He added that the competition, which started in September 2024, witnessed noticeable participation, with 210 projects applying, from which 63 applications were excluded for not aligning with the competition's themes, while the rest were distributed over 13 sectors, including ecotourism, waste management and recycling, energy and transportation, water, climate, technology, aquaculture, and nutrition.
He explained that the evaluation and qualification stages resulted in the selection of 19 winning projects, which were characterized by pioneering ideas that are implementable and capable of making a positive impact in the fields of environmental sustainability, confirming that the competition was not just an event, but a holistic experience that contributed to developing the capabilities of the participants and enhancing opportunities to turn their ideas into feasible projects.
He appreciated the support of the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, praising the efforts of the partners and the technical and advisory committees in the success of the competition.
The former Minister of Agriculture, Mahmoud Al-Duwairi, the head of the advisory committee for the competition, delivered a speech during which he emphasized the importance of the participating projects in the competition, pointing out that they focused on exploiting the available plant and animal genetic resources and reflected a clear commitment to protecting and managing them efficiently.
He added that these efforts contribute to preserving the environment and enhancing the sustainability of resources, ensuring their conservation for future generations.
On his part, the representative of the executive team for the project competition, the General Manager of the platform for integrating academia with industry, Khaled Khreisat, showcased the winning projects and the results of the competition, pointing out that the selection of winning projects in the competition was based on their alignment with the goals of the green economy to support and encourage small and medium-sized innovative projects with a positive environmental impact, enhancing sustainability concepts and green economy, and building the capabilities of entrepreneurs, stimulating creative solutions that contribute to facing environmental and economic challenges, resulting in funding 19 projects with a total value amounting to 365 thousand dollars.
A specialized dialogue session was held on the sidelines of the ceremony titled "Green Projects in Jordan and Their Impact on the Economy and Support Opportunities", with the participation of the Director of the Scientific Research and Innovation Fund Tareq Maqatish, the General Director of the National Center for Agricultural Research Ibrahim Al-Rawashdeh, the international consultant and expert Fadel Al-Za'abi, the Vice President of the Association Samih Abu Baker, and several experts and specialists.
The program also included an exhibition for the participating projects, allowing the audience to view the most prominent innovations, and the event concluded with presentations of the projects, amid affirmations of the importance of building on the competition's outcomes to support the orientations of the green economy in the kingdom.
