The Jordanian Dates Association (JODA) is participating in the Jordanian International Food Festival during the period from 6-11 August 2025.
His Excellency the Minister of Agriculture met yesterday evening with the Board of Directors of the Jordan Dates Association (JODA) at the association’s headquarters. During the meeting, they discussed the most prominent challenges facing the date palm sector in the Kingdom, ways to maintain the pace of growth witnessed by this vital sector, and the importance of working to regulate it.
During the meeting, His Excellency the Minister emphasized the importance of this sector and the importance of enhancing cooperation between all parties in the value chain and stakeholders to ensure sustainable development and advancement of the Jordanian date value chain, especially the Mejhoul variety, which has gained a prominent position regionally and internationally.
His Excellency the Minister also expressed his thanks and appreciation to the association and all palm farmers in the Kingdom for the remarkable progress they have achieved in the production and quality of Jordanian dates. He called for continued work in a spirit of partnership and wise and conscious management to ensure a more prosperous future for this strategic agricultural sector. He emphasized the Ministry’s commitment to direct communication with representatives of various agricultural sectors and listening to their comments and suggestions to enhance sustainable rural development. His Excellency affirmed the Ministry’s continued implementation of the National Plan to Combat the Red Palm Weevil. For his part, the Association’s Chairman, Engineer Anwar Haddad, and the Board of Directors praised the ongoing efforts of His Excellency the Minister and the Ministry’s technical staff in supporting and monitoring sector issues, stressing that this support has been a fundamental pillar for achieving the many accomplishments the sector has witnessed in recent years. He added that the relationship between the Ministry and the Association represents a model to be emulated for cooperation, coordination, and implementation between the public and private sectors.
Under the patronage of His Excellency the Minister of Agriculture, the Jordan Dates Association (JODA) held a workshop yesterday, Tuesday, at the Research Center of the Agricultural Engineers Syndicate in Al-Karama/Al-Aghwar to launch the project to evaluate the national plan to combat the red palm weevil, which is being implemented by the association in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and with the support of the United Nations Development Program. The workshop was attended by Engineer Yassin Al-Adwan, Director of Agriculture in the Central Jordan Valley, representing His Excellency the Minister, Engineer Walid Shaheen, Chairman of the National Steering Committee for the Small Grants Program – United Nations Development Program, Engineer Anas Al-Khasawneh, National Coordinator of the Small Grants Program, and Engineer Anwar Haddad, Chairman of the Dates Association. The workshop was also attended by cadres from the Plant Protection Directorate at the Ministry, directors of agriculture in the palm production areas in the Kingdom, and directors of irrigation water in the Jordan Valley Authority. The workshop was also attended by a number of local and international experts in the field of palm pests, in addition to a large number of palm farmers in the Kingdom. A presentation was given on the palm sector in the Kingdom and the plan to combat the red palm weevil. After that, the launch of the project was announced, which aims to raise awareness of the importance of the weevil and its economic impact. It also aims to verify the procedures and tools of the approved control plan and the capabilities of Modifying the plan’s course if necessary, in addition to a set of important secondary objectives, such as building a database on the palm tree sector in the Kingdom, the areas where the pest is concentrated, and the severity of its spread. The Minister’s representative, the President of the Dates Association, and the attendees commended the efforts made by the specialized personnel in the field to manage this file, and also thanked the United Nations Development Program.
