The Agricultural Sector: A Pillar of Development
International food security expert Dr. Fadel ELZUBI affirmed that the agricultural sector constitutes one of the most important pillars of Jordan’s economic and social development. Its significance lies not only in its essential contribution to the Gross Domestic Product, but also in its direct connection to people’s daily lives, their food security, and their social stability.
ELZUBI added that agriculture is not merely an economic activity, but rather a comprehensive way of life that strengthens spatial justice, creates employment opportunities, empowers rural women, and stimulates local production chains. Above all, it serves as a social safety valve that preserves the balance between rural and urban areas and curbs the accelerating rural exodus, which in recent years has caused worrying demographic and economic imbalances.
He noted that despite the sector’s clear importance, the relationship between the public and private sectors remains largely traditional. Agricultural partnership has too often been reduced to a repeated slogan rather than a genuine institutional practice. Instead of serving as a tool for integration and joint planning, it has frequently become a relationship of dependency and dominance, with the public sector imposing its directions and visions while the private sector merely responds or complies, without being a true partner in shaping policies or assessing their impact.
In other cases, he explained, partnership takes on a superficial, protocol-based form, limited to symbolic invitations for certain associations or agricultural unions to attend restricted meetings or workshops that leave no real imprint on strategic decisions. This stereotypical image reflects the absence of a genuine culture of partnership based on shared responsibilities and distributed roles in achieving sustainable agricultural development.
ELZUBI further pointed out that the Jordanian agricultural sector itself suffers from clear institutional fragmentation. Stakeholders—including the General Union of Farmers, production and marketing associations, professional syndicates, and food industry chambers—operate in isolated “islands,” without operational coordination or a unified strategic vision. This divergence of roles and interests leads to duplication of efforts, waste of resources, and a weakening of collective capacity for planning and influence.
He stressed that individualistic work in a sector that by nature depends on interconnected value chains is a guaranteed recipe for stalling development and slowing transformation.
From this standpoint, he argued, there is an urgent need to redefine the concept of partnership at its roots. Partnership does not mean merely sharing profits or implementing joint projects; it means that both sides bear shared responsibility for developing agricultural policies, preparing the investment environment, providing accessible financing, advancing scientific research, adopting modern technologies and digital agriculture, and adapting to climate change.
True partnership, he emphasized, begins with building mutual trust, grows through clear role definition, and flourishes when grounded in transparency, accountability, and unified objectives.
ELZUBI called for transforming the role of the public sector from that of “director and legislator” to that of enabler and catalyst—focusing on creating the legislative, regulatory, and investment environment that allows the private sector to grow and take initiative. In turn, the private sector must free itself from a culture of waiting and reaction, becoming instead a proactive partner in shaping visions and strategies, contributing to innovation and technology transfer, rather than merely receiving support and instructions.
Achieving this transformation, he stressed, requires genuine institutional reform, beginning with restructuring the General Union of Farmers into a field-based entity capable of organizing production and effectively representing farmers in agricultural decision-making. He also highlighted the need to establish a National Agricultural Chamber to play a pivotal role in linking production with manufacturing and marketing, serving as a bridge between farmers, investors, and exporters, thereby enhancing the efficiency of agricultural value chains from field to market.
Through such new organizational frameworks, he explained, smart partnerships can be built with development finance funds, technology companies, universities, and research centers. These would enable farmers to adopt climate adaptation technologies and improve sustainable productivity, while also opening new horizons for investment in smart agriculture, renewable energy for irrigation, water reuse, and the expansion of hydroponics and vertical farming—all in line with the goals of green transformation and a sustainable economy.
He underlined that innovative financing also plays a vital role in strengthening this partnership. The adoption of new financial tools—such as profit-sharing partnerships, green development funds, and risk-guarantee mechanisms—creates a more flexible environment for attracting long-term agricultural investments and reduces the sector’s reliance on short-term grants and traditional aid.
An Organic Relationship Between the Two Sectors
ELZUBI concluded by stressing that partnership in agriculture is not a relationship between a “seeker” and a “giver,” but rather between a producer and an enabler—between those working the land and those shaping the policies that support them. When this relationship is built on integration rather than dependency, and on vision rather than narrow interest, agriculture can transform from a sector burdened with challenges into a leading driver of national development.
He explained that what is needed today is a genuine will to redefine the concept of partnership within the framework of the Economic Modernization Vision 2033, which laid the foundations for Jordan’s structural economic transformation and positioned agriculture as one of the main engines of growth. By reimagining agricultural partnership as a system rooted in trust, shared responsibility, and innovation, Jordan can achieve the desired agricultural renaissance, restore the countryside to its rightful place, and reaffirm agriculture’s strategic role in ensuring food security, economic growth, social justice, and environmental sustainability.