AMMAN —
Agricultural production is witnessing a 50 percent decline this season, compared to last, and
prices of vegetables are expected to rise as winter approaches, and temperatures
drop, according to local media outlets.
اضافة اعلان
Specialists attribute
this decline to the shrinkage of the cultivated areas, delayed planting, and farmers’
shift to non-traditional varieties of crops or simply a reluctance to farm, due
to the high costs involved.
Farmers, like specialists, seem to agree that the decline in the
quantity of Jordan Valley produce at the onset of the winter season will lead
to a rise in prices in the coming period, especially if temperatures drop
further and particularly that the volume currently produced is 50 percent less
than that of last season. Traditionally, the volume of Jordan Valley produce at
this time of the year used to be several times higher than it is now.
The head of the
Jordan Valley Farmers Union concurs that the
current season will see a significant decline in agricultural production,
compared to previous seasons, and says that in light of the increased demand
for food, the selling prices of agricultural produce in local markets is bound
to witness an increase.
According to Director of Al-Arda Central Market Ahmed
Al-Khatalin, market imports mirror the lower volume of production in the Jordan
Valley, compared to that of last season; he says that daily market imports are
modest, ranging between 200 and 250 tons, compared to about 400 tons per day
last season.
According to Director of the Plant
Production Directorate at the Ministry of Agriculture Muhammad Al-Jammal, field
crops are most affected by lack of rain. If precipitation does not reach about
15 percent by the middle of next month, crops will be compromised.
He also says that lack of rain in the
northern regions is bound to result in decreased amounts of crops and higher production
costs as farmers will have to irrigate crops at their expense.
Already farmers in
Ramtha, northwest of
Jordan, say that they lack sufficient quantities of wheat and barley grains for
planting, which means they will not cultivate their lands this current season.
Farmers also call on the
Ministry of Agriculture to compensate them for the losses they suffered over recent
seasons, which witnessed a significant decline in the production of field crops
in all governorates of the Kingdom and, consequently, great losses to farmers.
It cost farmers JD30 to buy grains, plant,
fertilize and plow one dunum of grains in 2021, whereas in previous years, the
cost was merely JD3. It would cost farmers JD370 for a ton of barley and JD450
for a ton of wheat if purchased from the Jordan Cooperative Corporation in this
northern region.
2020 was a year of drought and high
temperatures, which damaged the crops, especially those of wheat, say farmers,
who complain about the fact that the Ministry of Agriculture does not compensate
them for poor crops, due to nature’s whims, or increased seed prices.
Director of the
Jordan Cooperative Corporation in the North Region Hashem Al-Omari stated that the corporation
sold about 1,300 tons and provided 100 tons of barley and 160 tons of wheat
during the past few days.
Silos Director Faleh Al-Shatnawi denied
that the silos administration sells wheat or barley to farmers, saying that the
wheat in the North Supply Complex is not suitable for agriculture.
The corporation sold wheat and barley at
subsidized prices to farmers for the current season through its seed sale
stations in the northern region.
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