November 7, 2022

 

Jordanian agricultural experts say local wheat production is important for self-sufficiency

 

 

Agricultural experts in Jordan said the country should grow wheat and other strategic produce for food self-sufficiency, especially as prices to import these commodities have increased, Jordan News reported.

 

They said that wheat farming will help the agricultural industry because it will boost farmers' income and lower the high import costs for wheat brought on by Russia's conflict in Ukraine.

 

According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity, Russia and Ukraine exported more than one-fourth (25.4%) of the wheat produced worldwide in 2019.

 

Mahmoud Al-Oran, director general of the Jordanian Farmers Union, said climate change and droughts are real, but they cannot ignore the fact that we can plant wheat and irrigate fields.

 

To reduce the increased prices of other produce, Jordan should devote more of its agricultural land to wheat production.

 

The World Food Programme states that farmers reported that certain crops, like potatoes and tomatoes, whose overproduction led to a sharp decline in their price. Due to this and high production costs, farmers are compelled to sell their products at a loss.

 

Oran concurred with this fact when he said a surplus in produce led to a decline in prices.

 

Oran said Jordan imports about 900,000 tonnes of wheat annually. The union leader argued that the situation should push the government to plant wheat and barley, given the conflict in Ukraine and the consequent increase in grain prices.

 

He said that the Jordan's dependence on wheat imports would be reduced by at least half if the government dedicated 1 million dunum for planting wheat.

 

Oran also said, the Land Use Regulation Law, which determines what land is designated as agricultural and prohibits the construction of new homes, is one way the government could accomplish this.

 

He said that the crop could be grown in between olive trees in some locations, such as Ramtha, where olive trees are already present.

 

Adnan Khaddam, the head of the Jordan Valley Farmers Union, said that climate change and a decline in rainwater are the reasons why the government does not plant wheat, adding that to adequately irrigate the fields, farmers would need to use groundwater that is currently designated for human consumption.

 

He said that there is enough land in the Horan plain that could provide a suitable environment for growing wheat to meet 90% of Jordan's needs.

 

-      Jordan News