APN empowered farmers and enhance food security in Jordan Valley
Image

 APN | Jordan Valley

 May 2022

 

APN directed its field team to the Southern (Mazra`a) Valley to implement a huge project entitled “Economic Empowerment and Supporting Food Security” funded and supervised by the International Islamic Charitable Organization - State of Kuwait, within the 2022 agenda of the “The Green Caravan” program in Jordan, which was launched by APN in 2003. The selection of the Southern Jordan Valley came as a location where the agricultural sector appears to be the most vulnerable in Jordan’s food basket, as the limited agricultural units are divided among farmers who are fed up as a result of water scarcity and lack of resources, and a different climate in the last two decades, which negatively affected the amount of production. The feasibility of continuing to cultivate the land, especially since many farmers have accumulated losses and debts, under these difficult circumstances remains a struggle. The new project, which has been implemented by APN comes as a glimmer of hope and aims to empower 181 farmers by providing basic production tools, especially what serves the irrigation process, which represents the main problem there. So far, 6 agricultural ponds with a total capacity of approximately 10,000 m3 of irrigation water have been completed. Due to the importance of conserving water and reducing water losses, 120 farmers were provided with new irrigation networks instead of the damaged ones in their lands, with a length of 142 km (longer than the distance from Amman to Karak), contributing to the irrigation of 250 dunums. With the aim of enhancing food security for the people of the valley, and after the success of previous experiments by APN in supporting local beekeepers, the project included the distribution of 20 new beehives to 5 beekeepers who aspire to improve their income by selling high-quality honey, noting that our previous projects were a reason to for the sons of farmers to complete their university education. Seasonal agriculture remains a profitable aim for the people of the region, so APN has allocated half a ton of high-quality mallow seeds for 10 farmers and by early June, APN, in cooperation with the local community, will plant 1,600 citrus and guava trees. The activities of APN in the southern Jordan Valley, and its support of small-scale farmers, emerges from the belief that the farmer represents the first line of defense for food sovereignty and food security, and all support must be provided to him to sustain production.