Amman — In an agricultural sector accustomed to water scarcity, Jordanian dates stand out as a clear success story. Jordanian Medjool dates account for around 14% of global exports of the variety, according to Agriculture Minister Saeb Al-Kharaysheh, who noted that dates represent a significant share of agricultural exports that helped drive sector growth to 7% in the final quarter of 2025.
The Jordan Dates Association estimates annual exports at around $70 million, while the sector provides between 5,000 and 8,000 jobs. Official estimates put the number of Medjool palms at around one million, planted across approximately 56,000 dunums. But this success raises a critical question: Is there enough water now, rather than waiting until the question becomes too late to answer?
Challenges Facing Date Palm Cultivation
Food security expert Dr. Fadel Al-Zoubi said the success of Medjool dates has been built primarily on private investment that benefited from genuine climatic advantages in the Jordan Valley and southern regions.
He said date palm cultivation faces several challenges, noting that palm trees require regular irrigation and large quantities of water throughout the year. Rapid expansion of cultivated areas therefore raises a question that cannot be postponed: Where will this water come from?
If expansion depends on non-renewable groundwater in already depleted aquifers, he warned, the success story could gradually turn into a deferred water debt.
He added that the red palm weevil is the sector’s biggest threat, as acknowledged by the Ministry of Agriculture itself. Its spread in a country where date palm cultivation is concentrated in limited areas could wipe out years of investment. Seasonal campaigns are not enough to confront a pest of this scale, he said, calling for a permanent national program for monitoring, quarantine and tracking palm offshoots.
Another major challenge, he said, is the value chain. Saudi Arabia increased its date exports in 2025 to around 1.94 billion Saudi riyals, supported by an organized initiative to enter global retail markets.
Market share, he noted, is built through branding, packaging and access to major retail shelves, not through production alone. A significant portion of Jordanian dates is still exported either raw or semi-processed, meaning part of the value is captured by those who repackage the product and sell it under their own brand.
He also questioned who benefits from the sector’s success. The industry is largely led by medium- and large-scale investments capable of absorbing the cost of planting material and waiting several years for production. Small farmers in the Jordan Valley often remain outside the value chain or operate on its margins.
Without cooperative mechanisms or contract farming arrangements linking small farmers with exporters and giving them access to seedlings and financing, Medjool dates will remain primarily an investment success story rather than a driver of rural development.
Al-Zoubi called for linking permits for expanding date palm cultivation to water-balance assessments for each aquifer, while prioritizing projects that use treated or low-salinity water where technically feasible.
He also called for establishing a geographical indication for “Jordanian Medjool” and building a national brand based on binding quality standards.
“The Jordanian Medjool proves that agriculture in a water-scarce country can be profitable and globally competitive,” he said, stressing that preserving this success requires asking about water availability now, rather than after the question becomes too late.
Water Is the Most Critical Issue
Jordan Dates Association President Eng. Anwar Haddad said water is the most critical issue affecting the future of sustainable development in Jordan.
According to the National Water Strategy (2023–2040), the total amount of water available for various uses in the Kingdom stands at around 1.1 billion cubic meters annually.
He said per capita water availability has fallen to critically low levels of around 61 cubic meters per year, placing Jordan among the world’s most water-scarce countries.
With agriculture consuming around 50% of total available water resources while meeting only about 60% of its actual needs, Haddad stressed the need for strict government management of water resources by the relevant authorities, given the direct connection between water security, food security and citizens’ rights to food and drinking water, despite the private sector’s ability to manage resources efficiently.
He described the date palm sector as a strategic pillar of food security because of its high nutritional value and as an important source of foreign currency for the national economy.
Date palm cultivation covers more than 56,000 dunums, with more than 800 farms and approximately one million palm trees producing around 37,000 tonnes of high-value dates annually. The Jordanian Medjool variety accounts for 85% of this cultivation, followed by Barhi at 10%.
Jordanian Medjool dates are enjoying growing global demand due to their competitive advantages, distinctive appearance, flavor and texture. Exports exceed 20,000 tonnes annually, with a value of more than $70 million. This figure is expected to reach $150 million annually once all planted areas reach full production.
Haddad said that with annual growth in cultivated date palm areas exceeding 10%, total water consumption currently stands at around 50 million cubic meters annually, at an average of 9,000 cubic meters per hectare. This is expected to rise to 81 million cubic meters by 2035.
He said the expansion is taking place along two main tracks. The first is agricultural conversion within the Jordan Valley, where farmers are shifting from water-constrained vegetable crops to date palms as a long-term investment requiring sustainable supplies of additional water compared with protected vegetable cultivation.
The second is expansion into new areas that rely entirely on groundwater. This trend requires controlling excessive pumping from aquifers so that extraction remains compatible with rainfall recharge rates and preserves safe groundwater levels.
Despite the pressures of climate change, Haddad said major strategic projects, particularly the National Water Carrier Project, will reshape Jordan’s water map. The project is expected to free up a significant portion of the King Abdullah Canal’s water currently allocated for drinking, allowing it to return to agricultural use in the Jordan Valley and helping keep water supplies for agriculture under control alongside planned water-treatment expansion projects.
He said achieving sustainability across the agricultural sector requires focusing on the highest financial return for every cubic meter of irrigation water. This means expanding investment in the Jordan Valley’s competitive advantages and adopting efficient management methods, including advanced pressure-compensating drip irrigation, smart and digitally based irrigation scheduling, greater use of rainwater and floodwater, increasing groundwater and surface-water storage, and shifting toward non-conventional water sources.
Reconciling food security requirements with water sustainability is no longer an option, he said, but a strategic path needed to safeguard national food security, preserve the global position of Jordanian agricultural products — particularly dates — and protect water resources for future generations.
A Remarkable Agricultural Experience
Dr. Khaled Al-Kharaysat, Executive Director of the Academia-Industry Integration Platform, said Jordan’s Medjool date sector is currently undergoing a remarkable agricultural and investment experience.
Within only a few years, the premium crop has evolved from a limited-scale agricultural activity in the Jordan Valley into a globally competitive Jordanian brand and export product.
He said the value of Jordanian Medjool dates lies in their ability to secure a strong position in high-value international markets, including Europe, the Gulf and North America, thanks to their high quality and distinctive taste.
Medjool cultivation in Jordan began in the late 20th century, gradually emerging as an alternative crop offering higher economic returns than traditional products affected by price fluctuations.
Over time, Jordanian investors recognized the crop’s strategic importance, prompting a structural transformation in the sector. It evolved from limited individual farms into organized agricultural investments using modern technologies for packaging, sorting and processing.
This development enabled the sector to achieve significant success within just two decades, making Jordan one of the major players in the international Medjool date market and giving it a notable share of global production.
Despite this success and the economic prospects it offers, including seasonal and permanent employment for thousands of technicians and workers in the Jordan Valley, the sector faces a complex water reality.
Jordan is classified among the world’s most water-scarce countries. Figures indicate that one dunum planted with Medjool palms, typically containing around 12 to 15 trees, consumes between 1,200 and 1,600 cubic meters of water annually to secure high-quality production. This is equivalent to around 80 to 120 cubic meters per palm each year, with consumption increasing during the summer.
With the number of date palms planted across the Kingdom exceeding 600,000, most of them Medjool, the sector’s total water requirements amount to tens of millions of cubic meters annually.
Estimates indicate that the actual water available for irrigation often covers less than half of these requirements, intensifying the challenge posed by ambitions to expand Medjool cultivation, water scarcity and the need to preserve depleted groundwater resources amid current conditions and the effects of climate change.
Al-Kharaysat said addressing this dual water challenge requires an integrated package of practical and engineering solutions to ensure the sector’s sustainability without placing additional pressure on aquifers.
These solutions include expanding the use of non-conventional water sources, such as highly treated wastewater, as well as establishing localized desalination plants for saline groundwater in the southern Jordan Valley.
He also called for technological solutions in irrigation, soil management and meteorological monitoring to reduce water losses.
The system should be complemented by firm policy measures and strict planning to prevent random well drilling and establish a water-use ceiling for each dunum, while strengthening the concept of maximizing financial returns per cubic meter of water by expanding food processing based on dates and increasing export value rather than simply expanding cultivated areas.
Looking ahead, Al-Kharaysat said expectations point to continued growth in global demand for Jordanian Medjool dates, creating promising opportunities to double the country’s export share and expand related processing industries.
However, achieving this future scenario will depend on the ability of the public and private sectors to adhere to water sustainability and climate adaptation programs.
The future, he said, requires transforming Jordan into a regional model for agricultural water-use efficiency, allowing Jordanian Medjool dates to remain a distinctive national product and demonstrating that wise resource management is the only guarantee for sustainable success.
Source: Al-Ghad
