AMMAN — Farmers in the north of the Kingdom are voicing concerns
that the decreased levels of
rainfall this season may cause major challenges
for the country’s already troubled farming sector.
اضافة اعلان
Ahmed Al-Omari, a farmer in the governorate of
Irbid, told the
Jordan News Agency, Petra, that farmers in the area have already begun plowing
their fields since the beginning of October. This, he said, was only possible
after the first rainfall, which provided a moist environment to facilitate the
seeding process.
However, this year’s lack of rain has meant that they have had to
delay the cultivation of
field crops, including wheat, barley, and lentils, due
to the heavy reliance on large amounts of winter rain.
Omar Al-Basoul, another local farmer, also expressed similar
worries, noting that the land is currently too dry for farming. He added that
the rainfall in Irbid this season has been insufficient to begin the winter
crop cultivation process, and the sporadic and low rainfall that did occur was
largely underutilized.
Low seasonAccording to agricultural engineer Laila Bani Hani, the rainfall
rate during this rainy season has been significantly lower than in previous
years.
With an agricultural area of 480,491 dunums in the Irbid
governorate, most of it used to cultivate field crops such as wheat and barley,
she noted that onion crops have been one of the most affected by the
decreasingrainfall.
Onion crops, she added, were begging to grow in the past few weeks.
Winter cropsDespite this, some indicators suggest that this season could still
be a good one.
Ahed Obaidat, the head of Ramtha Agriculture, said that
successive weather depressions are forecast to start at the beginning of February, according to the Jordan Metrological Department. If the
rains are heavy, he said, it may give farmers some hope for a successful
agricultural season, with particular regard to winter farms and field crops.
He added that in February and March, these rains could also be very
useful for summer farms, and could improve the state of natural and green
pastures.
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