The Minister of Agriculture, Eng. Khaled Al-Hunaifat, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Arab Potash Company, Shehada Abu Hudaib, and the Director General of the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature, Fadi Al-Nasser, signed today, Tuesday, an agreement to manufacture the cocooning technology locally.

Through the agreement, the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature will be funded with an amount of 450,000 dinars through the potash company over a period of 3 years, and approximately 190,000 dinars from the Ministry of Agriculture to manufacture the cocooning technology in the local market, use it in afforestation projects of the Ministry of Agriculture, and introduce it in the local and regional market.

Al-Hunaifat confirmed that the cocooning technique works to reduce water consumption, and it was tested in the Al-Hishah forest in Al-Shobak, and it recorded a success rate of 95 percent, explaining that we now have a project to use it in cooperation with the International Labor Organization through 100,000 cocoons for all governorates within the program of sustainable forestation, follow-up and protection.

He added that the factory will provide 25 job opportunities in the Faqoua district in Karak governorate, and we will have opportunities to export the product directly or indirectly, and we look forward to 100-300 job opportunities.

He pointed out that the remnants of forest trees, plants and delivery products will be used as raw materials in the cocoon industry, which will lead to forest cleaning and the production of an appropriate environmental input.

Al-Hunaifat expressed his thanks to the Potash Company for its generous support and great cooperation, and to the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature for its cooperation with the ministry’s plans.

In turn, Fadi Al-Nasser, Director General of the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature, said that this partnership reflects our vision to benefit from the strength of cooperation between all sectors, as we believe that environmental and economic challenges require collective action that includes everyone, indicating that today’s meeting is in order to launch this distinguished national project, which is the first project of its kind in the region, and we aspire to serve the region fully to constitute an added value to the national economy.

He added that the project is an opportunity to achieve sustainable development and provide sustainable job opportunities for the residents of the region, while maintaining a balance between economic growth and environmental protection.