Some 1,000 Jordanian farmers on Thursday blocked the country's main highway at Jeeza, about 40 km south of Amman, to protest a government decision to slash subsidies for livestock breeding.
Witnesses said the farmers cut off the highway between the capital and Queen Alia International Airport and that police used tear gas and riot batons to disperse the crowd.
On Tuesday, the Jordanian Cabinet decided to cut the annual subsidies for livestock fodder for goat and sheep farmers from 160 million Jordanian dinars (about 226 million U.S. dollars) to 52 million dinars, which will double the price of barley.
More than 28,000 farmers benefit from the livestock subsidies, according to an official statement. (1 Jordanian dinar = 1.41 U.S. dollars)
Source: Xinhua
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