The theme “agriculture, women and youth” deals with three main axes in the development of different societies and key pillars in sustainable development, especially in developing and rural countries. In general, it is known that Jordan is an agricultural country with excellence and that its water resources are limited because it is one of the most water-stressed countries in the world, which affects agricultural production, and often depends on the import of foodstuffs in a large proportion and in greater defiance of global price fluctuations. However, agriculture provides important employment opportunities, especially in rural and desert areas, and remains a vital sector for achieving sustainable food security.
Women represent a significant proportion of the agricultural workforce in many countries, ranging from 40-50% of which are employed in agriculture. Women’s contribution to agriculture is not counted economically, despite its great importance in agricultural and food production. Jordanian women have a vital role in agriculture, as they are heavily involved in agricultural activities such as harvesting crops, raising livestock and poultry, and stages of post-harvest transactions such as packaging.
Rural Jordanian women face many challenges in the agricultural sector, including lack of economic and social empowerment with limited access to finance, loans, agricultural training, technology, except about the limited ownership of agricultural land, poor representation in agricultural decision-making, seasonal and domestic work that is not officially recognized. There are still opportunities to improve the status of rural Jordanian women by building capacities and empowering them through training and funding and enhancing their role in decision-making at the farm, community and state levels.
The reality of youth employment in agriculture is limited and the majority of them are averse to working in it because of its traditional image and difficulty and prefer to work in cities or government jobs, which has led to high unemployment rates among young people sometimes exceeding 40%. There is also still an opportunity for young people to modernize the agricultural sector using modern technology, provide financial incentives and support agricultural entrepreneurs, as well as integrate modern agriculture into educational curricula and give a greater role to youth agricultural vocational training.
At present, it is necessary to work on integrating the role of women and youth in the agricultural sector through entrepreneurship by leading innovative and sustainable collective projects, including organic farming, hydroponics, rural agricultural manufacturing, direct sale via the internet, vertical farming. The process of empowering women and youth means supporting the food supply chain and improving nutrition, which is one of the pillars of food security.
Agricultural technology (AgriTech) has opened the way for young people to apply innovation and entrepreneurship, such as the use of drones, remote sensing and various local and global applications. As for enhancing the role of women and youth in agriculture in Jordan, it consists in providing concessional financing for agricultural projects, designing, implementing and evaluating vocational training programs specialized in modern agriculture, innovation and agricultural entrepreneurship, working on legal and social empowerment to facilitate land ownership, supporting linking small producers to local and international markets, and at the core of all this cooperation between government agencies, the private sector and non-profit organizations to achieve the desired goals, such as the program of the economic and social productivity enhancement project, the agricultural innovation incubators project, and others.
Bottom Line
Agriculture is a strategic area for empowering women and youth and achieving sustainable development, and the challenge lies in removing barriers and providing opportunities for them to play an effective and influential role in this vital sector. Despite all the challenges, women and youth in Jordan have great potential to lead a new agricultural renaissance. By empowering them, the agricultural sector can be transformed into an effective tool to address unemployment, poverty, achieve food security and sustainable rural development and achieve the vision of economic modernization and the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 .
