WFP okays $24m grant to Jordan

The United Nations' World Food Program (WFP) has endorsed a US$24 million grant to finance a project to develop the most impoverished regions in Jordan. The project's initial phase will be devoted to job-creation and provision of direct food aid to 160,000 beneficiaries in underprivileged rural areas of Jordan. Minister of Water and Irrigation and Agriculture, Hazem Nasser, in a statement today carried by Jordan's state news agency Petra , that the project's document was drawn up last year through direct cooperation between the WFP experts and the agriculture ministry with the participation of concerned entities and stakeholders in the Kingdom. He pointed out that the current phase is a step to prepare for an even bigger project in the future. He noted that the scheme is meant to help set up developmental ventures that lead to job creation, and yield benefits for the targeted groups, taking into consideration the special features of each area. Under the project, direct food aid will be provided to targeted groups in cooperation with civil society institutions to build and raise their capacity to upgrade performance, increase productivity and spread awareness about health and nutrition among the beneficiaries.