Project Objective

Project Objective:

Expanding Economic Development to Rural Areas in Jordan and Palestine (JO&PS). One of the main objectives for JO&PS today is to ensure the expansion of economic development to rural areas. Agriculture holds a significant share of employment, emphasizing its importance in rural communities. Despite notable progress in economic development and poverty reduction over the last decade, regional disparities continue to persist in JO&PS. Farming is economically important, despite its small share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), as it is a major source of food and a major source of hard currencies gained from exports. Approximately 25% of Jordanians below 20 years of age, while in 2011 the contribution of agriculture to GDP was 4%, a sharp decline from 40% in the 1950s. However, the contribution in absolute terms has increased, from JOD 0.7bn in 2011, to million in the 1950s to JOD 560 million in 2011. In 2011, the sector employed 124,000 people, which is 2.1% of the total population and 7.7% of the total labour force. On the other hand, the importance of Palestinian agriculture arises from its ability to boost the Palestinian economy, as agriculture contributes 4.5% of the gross domestic product, and contributes 15% of the total exports of Palestine to countries abroad. In addition, agriculture will contribute to the employment of Palestinian labour. The percentage of agricultural employment is about 11%, and therefore agriculture is a source of Palestinian income, a food source, and a source of support for food security.