Agriculture & Water
From The Report: Jordan 2013
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European countries pose a promising market for farmers, as the Jordanian climate is ideal for cultivation of out-of-season produce. The government has made resource conservation a priority and major projects are under way to improve network reliability. A number of initiatives have been implemented recently to increase the reliability of water sources, including a project to pump water from a southern aquifer to Amman.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

By land and sea: Water scarcity remains a concern as the sector looks for new growth opportunities
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With benefits such as year-round favourable weather in the Jordan Valley, Jordan is self-sufficient in a wide variety of agricultural products and is a net exporter of many fruits and vegetables, making agriculture a substantial contributor to national trade. The kingdom is, however, one of the driest countries in the world and suffers from dwindling renewable freshwater resources. In recent years a number of initiatives have been implemented to improve the availability of such resources. These…

Analysis

Thirsty business: Water conservation remains a top national priority
OBG
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Treatment. “However things should pick up, as GCC donors for example are interested in the wastewater treatment,” he told OBG. Indeed, foreign donors are already playing an important role. For example the US-backed Millennium Challenge Corporation is providing $93m of funding the expansion of the As Samra plant. The US Agency for International Development is also currently replacing a plant in Mafraq at a cost of $23.3m; water quality from the previous plant was too low for use in farming.…

Analysis

Looking abroad: In an attempt to help spur growth, the focus is increasingly turning to European markets
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Exports to Europe have been growing steadily in value terms over the medium to long term, although the bulk of Jordanian agricultural exports go to Arab states and the conflict in Syria has hindered sales to Eastern Europe. Jordan benefits from a number of advantages in supplying the European market, such as being able to grow crops year-round in the Jordan Valley, enabling it to fill seasonal gaps. Industry players say the key to boosting sales to the continent is to identify more such opportunities…