Amman, Sept. 23 (Petra) -- Agriculture Minister Saeb Khreisat and a World Bank delegation on Wednesday discussed strengthening Jordan's agricultural cooperatives and producer organizations by improving their "institutional" and business capacity and access to financing, markets and agricultural value chains.

Talking at the meeting, Khreisat stressed the need for achieving a "sustainable model" that enables these cooperatives to operate on clear economic and commercial principles, while tailoring support, training and financing to their level of development and market opportunities.

The two sides reviewed progress under the Agricultural Resilience, Value Chain Development and Innovation (ARDI) program, including an assessment of cooperatives’ maturity and the use of its findings to design targeted interventions in institutional development, business planning, financing and market access.

Talks also addressed "practical" steps to train government staff and cooperatives to develop "viable" business plans and use them to guide investment decisions, build partnerships and secure financing.

In turn, the World Bank team outlined proposed technical support and discussed follow-up measures to implement recommendations from a policy note on strengthening cooperatives and their links to Jordan’s agrifood sector.

As for joint future vision, the sides agreed to continue technical coordination to develop a roadmap for cooperative capacity-building and improve access to financing, markets and value chains.

Cooperatives development is a "key" component of the value chain development and export promotion services pillar under the ARDI program, implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture in cooperation with the World Bank.

This program seeks to strengthen the resilience and competitiveness of the agricultural sector, improve support services for farmers and producers, and enhance their links to markets and value chains.

//Petra// NQ