UNIDO United Nations Industrial Development Orga : New entrepreneurship development programme for Syrian refugees and farmers of host communities launched in Jordan

ZARQA, Jordan, 19 January 2017 - An entrepreneurship development programme (EDP) to create employment and generate income for Syrian refugees and local farmers of the host communities in Jordan, especially women and youth, was launched today by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture of Jordan.

The training will cover topics such as the concept of entrepreneurship, work and life skills, environmental scanning and business opportunity identification. It will last for more than 200 working days and target 500 people, of whom 30% are Syrian refugees.

The EDP is part of an umbrella project titled, 'Creating employment and improving food security in the host communities of Syrian refugees in northern and central Badia'. With funds from the Government of Japan, the project aims to tackle food insecurity in the host communities by leveraging on the agricultural potential of this area. In particular, it will help the refugees and local farmers improve methods of harvesting and processing agricultural products, and assist them in accessing markets.

Speaking at the launch of EDP, Shuichi Sakurai, Ambassador of Japan to Jordan, stressed that in close coordination with the Government of Jordan and international organizations, the Government of Japan will provide support for Syrian refugees and the host communities. So far, Japan has provided approximately US$59 million to support this effort.

Christiano Pasini, UNIDO Representative to Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, reiterated the Organization's commitment to enhancing economic empowerment of Syrian refugees and the Jordanian host community members, who have been affected by the Syrian crisis.

'The entrepreneurship development programme will provide the refugees and local farmers with learning opportunities. It will not only increase their productivity and income by adding values to their agricultural products, but also prepare them to have a positive attitude towards business, which can transform their thinking from traditional framers to creative framers with a business mind,' said Pasini.

The project will provide another training programme focusing on technical skills needed to comply with the Global Good Agricultural Practice - the codes, standards and regulations which have been developed in recent years by the food industry and producers organizations to codify agricultural practices at farm level for a range of commodities.

For information on the project, please go here

For information on Japan's contribution to UNIDO, please go here

For more information, please contact:

Noriko Takahashi
UNIDO Industrial Development Officers
email

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