Disappointing and Unknown Future for Agricultural Sector of Al-Mafraq

A Year of "Hits" and a Lot of Disappointment

Mohammed Fayyad, 37, is also facing a challenge in providing irrigation water. The area of the land cultivated by Fayyad has shrunk to about one third in the last few years, as he rented only 15 dunums this year in Al-Suwaylma region. Most of the area was planted with beans due to their low overhead costs, whereas six years ago he used to plant 50 donums.

Despite their water conservation characteristics compared to traditional farming, Fayyad gave up on his Polymer covered agricultural tunnels, because of their high costs and labor intensive needs. He buys artesian well water, and relies on drip irrigation to water his plants which he believes saves him water and produces better crops.

Sourcing water for irrigation is a big challenge for Al Mafraq farmers, "the well where we buy our water barely covers about 100 dunums," Fayyad says.

Fayyad points to the barren land surrounding his farm, saying: "This land is suitable for agriculture, but there is no water. The well used to supply 70 cubic meters per hour, and now it pumps just 30 meters per hour," he said, referring to the decline in rainfall that used to replenish the aquifers.

Fayyad, who has inherited his profession from his ancestors explained that "Many people stopped farming and went broke because of weak markets, high costs, lack of water, and many other reasons that have pushed them to abandon farming." He also pointed out that his revenue does not cover his costs in most seasons.

Analysis of agricultural data released by the Public Statistics Department reveals that the agricultural area size in Al-Mafraq Governorate has declined by almost half in the last five years (2020-2015).

Al-Mafraq farmers' dependence on aquifer water for irrigation increases their production costs and decreases their overall revenue, making the farming trade closer to "gambling", according to the agricultural expert Taleb Abu Shrar.

Abu Shrar, a professor of soil and water chemistry at the University of Jordan, explains that vegetable crops require at least 150-200 cubic meters of water per dunum, and the aquifer needs to be replenished by similar amounts of rain water. He warned that the dry seasons negatively affect the quality of the soil due to the scarcity of freshwater and the low level of underground water; this, pushes farmers to dig deeper for their water.

According to Abu Shrar, the danger lies in the quality of the lower level wells water, as it has a higher salinity and causes the salinization of the land year after year, and this, in turn, negatively affects production volume and soil quality.

Vegetable and field crop in Al-Mafraq decreased in 2015-2020

Source: Interactive Database - Jordan Department of Statistics Production: tons per acre

Continuous drip irrigation leads to the formation of alkaline soils in the absence of streaming fresh water, while not washing the salts off the soil threatens to accumulate in the soil , according to the Water Replacement and Reuse Policy issued by the Jordanian Ministry of Water and Irrigation.

Renewable Energy, a Solution in Sight

The expert Taleb Abu Shrar believes that farmers face many challenges that increase their costs and diminishes their revenues due to the high cost of fuel that operates their water extraction pumps, the cost of polymer tunnels, the cost of purchased water and fertilizers, makes the farming process closer to gambling, "one year is a hit, then five years are a miss."

This was confirmed by farmer Ayman Abu Keshk from Al-Dandania area in Al-Mafraq Governorate, who explained that the high cost of energy related to extracting water from wells represents one of the challenges facing farmers, especially in the absence of solar energy despite its suitability for the governorate’s weather.

Abu-Keshk grows vegetable crops using plastic houses or polymer tunnels. He hails from a farming family, and has completed his university studies in the field.

Abu Keshk is in danger of losing everything, "we used to plant 300 dunums, now we plant 150, and next year we will not plant any” he says.

He said that the rise in overhead costs and government tax increases have become a big burden on farmers and threaten their survival.

The specialist in water resources management, Ali Al-Hayajna, believes that farmers in Al-Mafraq have been hit by big financial costs due to their reliance on underground water for irrigation and the associated costs of pumping it using electricity or fuel.

Climate change has piled more pressure on the desert governorate which has been experiencing higher temperatures and drought, Al-Hayajna said.

Al-Hayajna, who has been part of the “Intelligent Desert Project”, that supports small farmers improve their agricultural production through the introduction of modern irrigation and agricultural methods using solar energy in Al-Mafraq, Al-Ramtha and parts of Jerash and Al-Zarqa.

The project targets 200 farms in the northern Badia region and is being implemented under the auspices of the International Union for the Protection of Nature, an umbrella for the coalition of several organizations.

Al-Hayajna attributed the decline in agricultural areas in Al-Mafraq to the lack of groundwater replenishment with the absence of considerable amount of annual rainfalls.. All this drives the search for water deeper and hence raises the cost of irrigation.

The challenges facing the agricultural sector in Jordan due to climate change are high temperatures, low precipitation, drought, and the shifts in the rainy season.

Economic experts see that the limited natural resources in Jordan, especially in the water sector, due to climate change, contributed to increasing the rate of desertification, breaking up agricultural properties and changing the nature of using these lands, according to a report published by the Jordan Strategy Forum last year.

Climate Changes and Other Adversities

The Jordanian Ministry of Agriculture is responsible for organizing and developing the agricultural sector to achieve a number of objectives, including the establishment and development of agricultural projects, combating desertification, developing the countryside and desert, and raising their productive capacities, according to the Agriculture Law No. 13 of 2015.

Climate change has impacted Jordan water resources negatively, despite the larger demands from its agricultural crops, the inadequate replenishment of groundwater reservoirs, the constant decline in surface water availability, and the need to use non-traditional water sources for irrigation such as treated water, according to a UN report released in 2018.

Professor of Agricultural Economy Mohammed Majdalawi explains that Al-Mafraq has witnessed a growth in vegetable and fruit tree production since the 1990s, but the turmoil across the northern borders negatively affected exports through that country.

Majdalawi attributed the declining interest in reclaiming farmland mainly to urban planning on farmland, as well as water shortages and the lack of clear water policies such as the water harvesting policy, which provides water supply throughout the year.

Water harvesting depends on the collection and stockpiling of water at the site for specific use.

According to Majdalawi, water harvesting is the main tool to making maximum use of rain water; this, he said, highlights the importance of the role of raising awareness and providing guidance to farmers to pay attention to this matter.

Majdalawi pointed to the possible role of climatic changes in the deterioration of the quality of agricultural lands; this, he added, requires a clear policy to reclaim those lands in a way that takes into account the expected climatic changes and their effect on the amount of available water and the types of crops.