Water, high costs major challenges facing small-scale farmers in Jordan — FAO study
AMMAN — Water shortages and high costs are the most significant challenges for small-scale farmers, according to a study issued by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
Small-scale farms face a number of challenges that impede the access of their products to foreign markets, in addition to other obstacles that limit their effectiveness, according to FAO’s recent study titled “Promoting rural advisory services in Arab countries to promote market orientation and comprehensive transformation” which covered Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon and Oman.
The study focused on small farmers in the Jordan Valley and Irbid and concluded that broker-buyers in particular set low prices for agricultural products, depriving farmers of access to foreign markets.
The study also considered that water shortages and high production costs are additional challenges faced by farmers in Jordan.
In particular, farmers face high costs of fertilisers and pesticides, electricity, water pumps, land rents, transportation and packaging. These challenges are exacerbated by deteriorating infrastructure and a lack of modern agricultural processing equipment.
According to the study, these conditions disproportionately impact women, given their reduced access to funding and technology as well as limited mobility.
The study indicated that the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, the Jordan Valley Authority and the faculties of agriculture in public universities are the primary providers of advice and support to small-scale farmers in Jordan.
The study stated that farmers in Jordan consider the Ministry of Agriculture their preferred source of information, but that the ministry’s ability to communicate with farmers is hampered by insufficient staffing and limited access to transportation, information and communication technology. This affects their ability to cover all areas and provide appropriate and regular field support to farmers and women in particular.
The FAO study found that 50 per cent of respondents expressed their appreciation for the role of Farmer Field Schools, which provide support in capacity development. However, “access to basic information about aspects of work and market prices is often absent”.
Other sources of information include the private sector, input suppliers and purchase orders. Farmer groups indicated that the information provided by the private sector sometimes conflicts with that provided by the public sector, so they tend to rely on public services. The report also found that most farmers trust and benefit from the experiences of other farmers, especially large-scale farmers.
In addition to adverse climatic conditions, farmers face challenges stemming from their limited assets, land fragmentation and weak capabilities, which are reflected in their productivity, profitability and income.
The study stressed that small-scale farmers need services that enable them to make informed decisions, facilitate access to post-harvest facilities and more profitable markets.
Commenting on this study, Adnan Khaddam, head of the Jordan Valley Farmers Union, told The Jordan Times on Tuesday that the cost of production and water is one of the biggest challenges facing small-scale farmers. Additionally, events in the last several years have negatively impacted farmers, from closing the borders with Syria to the COVID-19 crisis.
Social security must be available for small-scale farmers because their only income is their farms, Khaddam said.
He added that the amount of water that farmers get is not enough to irrigate their crops, and the cost of digging a well for irrigation is often unaffordable.
The main source of water for the Jordan Valley region is the King Talal Dam. The lower the dam’s water level, the higher its salinity, which affects the crops, Khaddam added.