Amman, Dec. 4 (Petra) – Chief of the Royal Hashemite Court and head of the committee overseeing the implementation of His Majesty King Abdullah II's initiatives, Yousef Issawi, inaugurated Thursday the second phase of the Royal Initiative to Activate the Role of the Cooperative Sector in the Development Process, targeting cooperative societies in the Central Badia region.

The Royal Initiative, launched under the directives of His Majesty, seeks to enhance the role of cooperatives in driving economic and social development, enabling them to implement income-generating projects that improve living standards across targeted local communities.

This new phase builds on the achievements of the first phase, implemented in 2022 in the Northern Badia, which established productive projects in agriculture and agro-processing and generated job opportunities for residents.

The action plan for the second phase includes implementing productive projects in agriculture, food processing, tourism, and hospitality. These projects are expected to create employment opportunities and provide sustainable income sources for members of beneficiary societies.

During the launch ceremony, seven implementation agreements were signed between the Association of Social Development Centers, responsible for managing the initiative’s phases, and the beneficiary cooperative societies. Each agreement outlines supervisory, training, and technical follow-up roles tailored to the nature of each project.

An agreement with the Reef al-Wasat Agricultural Cooperative Society includes establishing ten greenhouses for protected agriculture in Irinba al-Gharbiya in the Giza district, supporting year-round vegetable production and benefiting 20 member families.

Another agreement with the Nabe' al-Thamad Agricultural Cooperative Society in the Zeinab area of Giza provides for the establishment of ten protected greenhouses on 75 dunams, along with irrigation ponds and a water source from a private well, increasing agricultural production capacity.

In Umm Rummanah, the Beit al-Khair Cooperative Society will cultivate 97 dunams of fodder corn using treated wastewater from the South Amman Wastewater Treatment Plant. The project will produce silage for the livestock sector and support 54 society members with a reliable income source.

In the tourism sector, an agreement with the Umm al-Rasas Women’s Cooperative Society will enhance the existing rest area at the Umm al-Rasas archaeological site and establish a production kitchen to provide hospitality services for visitors, supporting 30 women members and advancing rural tourism.

Meanwhile, the Nashmiyat al-Badia al-Sharqiyah Cooperative Society in South Azraq will expand its alfalfa cultivation project to 100 dunams with upgraded agricultural machinery to meet rising demand among livestock breeders.

An additional agreement with the Azraq Women’s Cooperative Society will restart and upgrade its dairy processing plant, enabling daily production of up to 400 kilograms each of cow and sheep milk. The plant will be equipped with a refrigerated truck to improve market access and distribution quality.

The seventh agreement, signed with the al-Rayahin Cooperative Society in Madaba, will enhance its existing project by adding five hydroponic greenhouses to increase high-quality crop production and generate new job opportunities.

Under these agreements, the Association of Social Development Centers will supervise all implementation phases, train cooperative members in financial management, marketing, and quality control, monitor project performance, and submit technical reports to the Royal Initiatives Follow-up and Implementation Department to ensure sustainability and impact.

During the ceremony, Issawi said the launch of the second phase reflects His Majesty the King’s directives to promote sustainable local development in Badia regions by supporting active cooperatives and strengthening the culture of cooperative work as a key pillar in improving living standards and expanding employment opportunities.

He noted that the first phase in the Northern Badia succeeded in building cooperative capacities, creating sustainable production projects, and establishing effective partnerships with government entities and civil society organizations, resulting in tangible benefits for local communities.

Issawi added that the second phase will follow the same participatory approach, in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture, the National Agricultural Research Center, the Jordan Cooperative Corporation, the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development, Enhanced Productivity Centers (Irada), the Vocational Training Corporation, and the Association of Social Development Centers.

He said projects were selected based on transparent professional criteria that assessed comparative advantage, competitiveness, and economic feasibility to ensure job creation and stable income streams for beneficiary families.

He underscored the need to build the administrative and technical capacities of cooperative societies to enable effective project management, emphasizing that the success of the initiative depends largely on the commitment and diligence of the cooperatives, which are supported by various tools and mechanisms.

He commended partner institutions and stressed that the royal initiatives follow-up and implementation department will continue coordinating with all entities to ensure the success of the second phase and the achievement of its development goals.

For his part, Jordan Cooperative Corporation Director General Abdul Fattah Shalabi said that the Corporation is moving forward with modernizing and developing the sector as part of the National Strategy for the Cooperative Movement, noting the new Cooperatives Law of 2025 and the establishment of the Cooperative Development Fund and the Cooperative Development Institute to enhance cooperative performance and capabilities.

//Petra// AJ