(MENAFN- Jordan Times) AMMAN — The Higher Population Council (HPC) on Saturday called for government policies to enhance the production of affordable food items, utilise local food production capabilities, improve the productivity and the quality of food, and achieve food security in the Kingdom by 2030.
Celebrating World Food Day, which is annually marked on October 16, the HPC also recommended guaranteeing strategic reserves of all basic food items, stimulating investments, reducing food waste, and improving the accessibility to food through supporting social protection networks, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
World Food Day, which is celebrated this year under the theme "Our Actions are our Future" aims to raise awareness of those with food shortages in the world.
At the national level, HPC Secretary General Ablah Amawi said that food security is a focus of the 2030 Sustainable Development Plan, mainly goal two on“zero hunger”, which the Kingdom seeks to realise by 2030.
Amawi noted that Jordan faces several challenges towards enhancing food security as a result of the increasing food demand due to high population growth rates. She pointed out that the Kingdom ranked 62nd on the 2020 global food security indicator.
She also referred to other challenges in Jordan related to malnutrition and non-communicable diseases associated with diets. She noted that anaemia among women stands at 43 per cent and at 32 per cent among children, while obesity among adults (18 years and older) stands at 32.3 per cent.
The HPC statement added that the Kingdom imports more than 57 per cent of its food items.
The statement also said that 15.7 per cent of the Kingdom's some 11 million population lives under the poverty line and almost 8.5 per cent of the population suffers from malnutrition.
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