By Hana Namrouqa

AMMAN - The Ministry of Water and Irrigation on Monday rescinded a recent decision banning cultivation of summer crops since storage levels in the Kingdom’s major dams are currently within safe limits.

Following heavy rain and snowfall across most of the Kingdom over the past three days, the country’s nine major dams now store 101.85 million cubic metres (mcm) of water, constituting 47.15 per cent of their total capacity of 215.44mcm, Minister of Water and Irrigation Raed Abu Saud told reporters during a press conference on Monday.

“Before the recent heavy rain, the situation of farmers and the agricultural sector was very bad, but now with the encouraging water levels, farmers are allowed to plant summer crops,” Abu Saud said.

Late in January, the Jordan Valley Authority decided to ban the cultivation of summer crops, including certain vegetables, to reduce water consumption as the country saw little rain, but said it was ready to cancel its decision if the Kingdom receives sufficient rainfall.

Abu Saud noted that the ministry’s water strategy is “very flexible” and its implementation relies on the quantity of rain the country receives by the end of winter.

Agriculture Ministry Assistant Secretary General for Agricultural Produce Adnan Abdul Nour earlier said the ministry opposes banning the cultivation of any kind of crops, especially in the summer.

“Summer crops not only provide farmers in the Jordan Valley with income, but also support the country’s economy, as vegetables grown there during summer are exported to the European market,” Abdul Nour told The Jordan Times.

He said the warm climate in the Jordan Valley, which he described as the Kingdom’s vegetable basket, ensures good production of vegetables all year-round.

During yesterday’s press conference, Abu Saud said farmers in the Northern Ghor will receive 45 per cent of their total irrigation needs, while those in the Central Ghor will receive 55 per cent.

“If water storage increases further we will reconsider these figures and increase water supply to farmers with the aim of supporting the agriculture sector,” the minister said.

He underscored that the water distribution programme, under which consumers receive water once a week, will remain unchanged and supply will not decrease.

At this time last year, the dams held 97.58mcm or 45.3 per cent of their total capacity, according to ministry figures, which also indicated that the minimum storage during this time of year is 100-110mcm.

Meanwhile, Jordan Valley Authority (JVA) Secretary General Musa Jamaani denied news reports on water leakage from Shuaib Dam, noting that the dam was built for “replenishing the underground water wells”.

“When Shuaib Dam, with a total capacity of 1.43mcm, holds its full capacity for two consecutive years, all the water wells beneath it store good amounts of water,” Jamaani told reporters yesterday.

Referring to water storage in Lake Tiberias, where the Kingdom stores 50mcm of water during winter and avails of it in summer, the JVA official noted that “the lake did not store a single metre of water since the start of the wet season, but following the recent rain, 1mcm were channelled into it.”

Meanwhile, the Yarmouk River flow, which is decreasing and did not rise over 3 cubic metres per second over the past few years, reached 50-60 cubic metres per second after the recent precipitation.

Ministry figures also indicated that Wihdeh Dam, where water storage is still experimental, on Monday morning held 15mcm of its total capacity of 110mcm for the first time since its construction.