FAO building the capacity of farmers and agricultural extension workers and transferring the knowledge to the staff of Jordan Ministry of Agriculture

Experts from the Regional Office for the Near East and North Africa of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in collaboration with International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Jordan Ministry of Agriculture along with government officials from 18 Arab countries went for two field visits in Jerash governorate, Jordan.  Meeting with beneficiaries were held, listening to their experiences, and learning about the many success stories achieved by the FAO in support of Ministry of Agriculture in Jordan. 

FAO has been applying the Farmer Field School approach for many years in different parts of the world with great success. It is based on “learning by doing”, a “school without walls” that provides a platform for farming communities to enable them to share their experiences and knowledge to improve their current practices through experiential learning processes aimed at making informed decisions leading to sustainable agricultural production. 

“We have trained 21 master trainers from the Ministry of Agriculture on establishing farmer field schools, and these trainers in turn transferred this knowledge to all extension staff, covering wide range of technical topics, including plant and animal production, fish and beekeeping, food processing, dairy and cheese production, climate-smart practices and more,” highlighted Nabil Assaf, FAO Jordan Representative. 

“Out of our belief in the importance of the role of agricultural extension and rural development, we have worked to improve the infrastructure of extension services by raising the budget and expanding the provision of the agricultural extension sector to include the largest number of farmers. Because we believe in the importance of rural development, we have worked to support rural women and enable them to access sources of finance,” said H.E Eng. Khaled Henaifat, Minister of Agriculture of Jordan. 

The first visit was to Al-Faisal Nursery, a pioneering station that includes most modern agricultural technologies funded by FAO and is responsible for producing fruit seedlings and forest trees that are later sold to farmers. The production of the nursery is sent to an association responsible for special needs, and was previously sent to the King Hussein Cancer Center. It is also considered an important training station in which the ministry staff and extension workers are giving trainings to unemployed youth in agricultural professions. 

Also, getting the chance to see the FAO project for "Introduction of Hydroponics and Aquaponics for Efficient Water Use" which aimed to enhance Jordan's water efficiency through sustainable food production, by establishing pilot training centers and building the capacity of farmers, recent graduates, and agricultural extension workers. The project promoted climate-smart, integrated agri-aquaculture systems, Leveraging FAO's hydroponics expertise, the initiative provided hands-on training and knowledge transfer, including a three-month advanced course for 30 participants. 

The second stop was to Darb Al Nour NGO, a female association that features a lot of success stories in empowering rural women, and their direct impact on the local community. 

Ending with the Royal Botanic Garden, a non-profit organization, that was established in 2005 with the aim of preserving biodiversity and activating the field of environmental awareness in the country. 

This field visit was on the sidelines of the first Annual Meeting of the Arab Forum for Rural Advisory Services (AFRAS) featuring innovation in extension and rural advisory services across the Arab region.