Building Partnerships and Enhancing Market Systems
Global trends and developments in crop distribution and marketing entail 3 key requirements including: high and consistent food quality, food safety and health, and environment sustainability. Food safety and sustainability requirements result in the need for producers and exporters to have certain certifications in order to provide more value, convenience and pure and natural crops for the consumer.The agriculture sector’s competitiveness and growth are attained through building partnerships and developing and implementing market driven strategies and approaches. Building business partnerships is vital for enhancing the sector’s sustainability, incentivizing investments, adopting technology and exchanging information and knowledge.
In 2016, a study was completed by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) on” Export Value Chain Analysis for Fruits and Vegetables in Jordan.” The study discusses the various challenges in the sector and provides recommendations for interventions to develop a Horticulture Export Market Strategy for Jordan which will result in concrete actions for incentives and improvements. Through the identified recommendations in this study, HAED-Jo catalyzes on existing opportunities and addresses challenges to assist farmers in reaching new markets.
HAED-Jo aims at creating and building partnerships that will grow and expand with the development of hydroponic projects in Jordan. We have improved market accessibility for local agriculture producers and worked on boosting competition for local agrobusinesses. Our approach implements comprehensive market assessments and combines international best-practices and solutions that empower small agricultural producers to take calculated risks. The project’s activities on markets’ development, partnership building, skills and capacity development support the advancement of the entire value chain and thereby maximize economic returns and job creation. To support these efforts, HAED-Jo collaborates with farmers and exporters to identify market opportunities and drive investments towards production and post-harvest systems thus increasing its market viability.
To initiate the activity, HAED-Jo carried out a mapping exercise of regional and international suppliers and compiled a database of interested suppliers that have regional experience, worked in similar farming contexts and understand the specific challenges and potential of the sector. To date, HAED-Jo has:
- Supported four local farmers in attending Fruit Logistica Trade fair Berlin.
- Organized a study tour for 16 Jordanian growers and exporters to Spain, showcasing applicable greenhouse technologies, modalities of growers’ cooperation and meetings with Spanish suppliers and cooperatives.
- Established several Jordanian-European business partnerships to advance efficient farming and provide an opportunity for these partners to enter international markets.
- Facilitated a joint marketing agreement by Abu Sido and Al-Jabaly to enhance the synergy between their opposing production seasons in the Jordan Valley and Highland farms.
- Developed a training program with the Centre for the Promotion of Imports from Developing Countries (CBI) to prepare local farmers in attending international trade missions. The training program focused on how to plan their participation, prepare the required marketing material, and identify potential companies and traders to collaborate with.
- Led multiple trainings for local farmers on export marketing and action plan development, market readiness, matchmaking, market entry and market consolidation.