Organized by WFP and UNICEF ‘Abu-Ghazaleh Knowledge Forum’ Takes Part in Food Security and Youth Entrepreneurial Opportunities Panel Session

AMMAN - Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Knowledge Forum (TAG-KF), a member of Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Global (TAG.Global), participated in an online panel session organized by the World Food Program (WFP) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) entitled “Food Security Issues in Jordan and the Available Opportunities for Youth for Innovation and Entrepreneurship”.

Representing  TAG-KF, Forum’s executive director Mr. Fadi Daoud, stressed the importance of youth participation and discussing with them the  means for maintaining food security, as well as reviving the agricultural sector through innovation and creativity, in view particularly of  the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic effects, which remarkably unveiled the significance of innovation and entrepreneurship in this field. 

Daoud, who also moderated the session, stated that innovation and entrepreneurship became imperative needs especially in light of the crises the world is experiencing, pointing out that TAG-KF devotes most of its efforts to open channels of dialogue with the youth, and to encourage them to innovate in different fields to create job opportunities, as well as to strengthen community development. 

During the session, Mr. Faris Atieh, Innovation Consultant at WFP, stated that the Program’s Innovation Unit was established for the purpose of supporting innovation and entrepreneurship in food security, noting that WFP supports any innovation that could contribute to solving problems and challenges facing the agricultural sector through WFP’s various partnerships.

For her part, Ms. Bisan Abdulkader, Youth and Adolescent Development Specialist at the UNICEF, said that business incubators are one of the projects offered by (UNICEF – Jordan) which aims at supporting the youth economically and socially. She pointed out that innovation in food security, which is one of the UNICEF’s important projects, contributes to creating 100 thousand job opportunities for the youth annually. 

Meanwhile, Eng. Ammar Hattar, director of Intellectual Property Rights Unit at the National Agricultural Research Center (NARC), stated that the Center aims at utilizing the outcomes of agricultural research developed locally or obtained from other sources for the purposes of increasing the agricultural production, while improving its efficiency and quality, conserving the agricultural natural resources and optimizing their use, in addition to maintaining and preserving the ecological balance.

Mr. Abedalrhman Habashneh, founder of Decapolis, said that Decapolis is an entrepreneurial company specialized in traceability of food safety and building confidence in national products to introduce them to the world. He noted that the Company is currently working with foodstuff factories and 100 vegetable and fruit farmers to assist in solving the problems of farmers, as well as to bring safe and high-quality food products and increase their profits, which reached up to 33% in some cases.  

Founder of Green Mark Project, Mr. Majdi Qatanani, stated that the idea behind the project was born due to the decline in green spaces, and our solution was to cultivate food on the rooftops and increase such spaces in Jordan.

For her part, Ms. Dina Dajani, Youth & Adolescent Development Officer at UNICEF – Jordan, introduced participants to the mechanism of joining the UNICEF Entrepreneurship Programs. 

The panel session comes as a part of empowering innovative youth in food security area, as well as building their capacities in entrepreneurship and innovation, launched by UNICEF in partnership with WFP, which targets youth aged between 18 -26 years old concerned about food security.