Dr. Fadel ELZUBI, international expert in food security, explained that with the launch of the “Orientit” project, Jordan is taking steps toward adopting the concept of the circular economy in the sector, in partnership with solid European expertise.

Although the current project focuses only on the value chains of olives and citrus—two vital sectors—its importance goes beyond them, pointing to a necessary national path that must be pursued with seriousness and determination.

ELZUBI added that transforming the waste from these two sectors, such as olive pomace and citrus peels, from an environmental and economic burden into high-value products demonstrates the feasibility of the circular model and its ability to create genuine economic and environmental opportunities. He noted that this successful experience should serve as a beacon for generalizing the principle across the entire Jordanian agricultural value chain. The country generates massive amounts of waste from vegetables, fruits, poultry, and other sources, which currently go to waste or become pollutants, while they could instead be harnessed as sources of bioenergy, organic fertilizers, and raw materials for promising industries.

He emphasized that mainstreaming this model will strengthen the sector’s resilience, increase farmers’ incomes, create renewable local industries, and protect Jordan’s fragile environment. Achieving this, he added, requires funding that is independent of reliance on external grants, through the establishment of a national circular economy fund, fed from multiple sources, to serve as a cornerstone for supporting entrepreneurial ideas and small- and medium-sized projects in this field.

ELZUBI pointed out that the pivotal issue to focus on lies in linking the outputs of national scientific research with such applied activity. Our universities and research centers produce valuable studies and research in biochemistry, engineering, and agriculture. He stressed that the project is an ideal bridge to transform these studies from scientific papers into practical field applications, and to create an organic partnership between research centers—such as the National Agricultural Research Center—the private sector, and farmers, in order to direct research toward solving real problems and developing technologies that are locally appropriate and reasonably priced.