Farmers face economic challenges as agricultural sales decline

AMMAN — The demand for agricultural products is on the decline with sales falling by nearly 20-30 per cent, said Adnan Khaddam, president of Jordan Valley Farmers Union on Wednesday.

“There has been a slowdown in demand since the beginning of war in Gaza... this is a normal thing to happen as people in Jordan are in a state of worry and rage,” Khaddam told The Jordan Times. 

“Currently we grow almost all kinds of fruits and vegetables in Jordan, but this has brought adverse impact to our crops,” he added.

Khaddam said the recent rainfall has helped to revive agricultural productivity, and decrease farmers’ use of pesticides, pointing to the constant shifts in the timing and intensity of rainfall as another thing to consider.

Sharing his expectations for 2024, Khaddam said that sales of most agricultural products will be considerably slower, and a potential for further increases in demand for key agricultural commodities is diminished due to the deteriorating economic conditions. 

As for the current position of farmers, Khaddam noted that they still have accumulated debt and are trying to curtail their costs as much as possible. 

Speaking with The Jordan Times on Wednesday, Nawash Al Yazjeen, a farmer from the Jordan Valley, said that “it is becoming harder and harder to be working as a farmer in an unregulated agricultural market”, noting that marketing the local produce is still among the major challenges facing farmers.

Cutting back on production inputs, Yazjeen said that he faces liquidity restraints and that is why his monthly income decreased during 2023.