After months of irrigation, spraying, plowing and pruning, Ajloun's summer fruit season arrives as a critical source of income for farming families and a profitable opportunity for wholesalers and retailers operating in and beyond the governorate's markets. Grapes, pomegranates, figs, peaches and other varieties ripen across orchards and vineyards that have been tended since early in the year.
اضافة اعلان
Despite high production costs and persistent marketing challenges, farmers remain attached to their land for the livelihood it provides. Fields come alive during summer, and the season functions as a vital economic artery for Ajloun's villages and towns, yielding grapes, apples, figs, raisins, pumpkins and locally grown tomatoes.
Farmer Rateb al-Qudah said the summer harvest is not simply a time of reaping but a daily effort to protect the land and sustain income. He said the grape, apple and fig season is a continuous story of hard work and an economic pillar that strengthens family resilience and underpins livelihoods across the community.
Al-Qudah added that the journey from field to market carries the fruit of months of labour and that the agricultural season represents more than abundant production. He described it as a local economy in its own right, one that opens livelihood opportunities, stimulates commercial activity and raises the profile of Ajloun produce in wider markets.
Farmer Hamza Annab said the growing number of visitors and tourists to Ajloun Governorate has helped revive conditions for many farming families, who sell summer fruits in the governorate's markets, from roadside stalls, and near tourist sites and picnic areas. He said prices vary by fruit type and quality but, in all cases, allow sellers to cover their costs and achieve a profit margin directed toward household needs.
Annab added that the summer fruit season serves as both a food source and a livelihood for residents, particularly given the high cost of imported fruit. He said grapes and figs are the most beneficial crops for local residents because they are abundant and easy to market, given the thousands of visitors and traders who come to buy directly from orchards or supply wholesalers within the governorate. He said a kilogram sells for between one and three dinars.
Farmer Abu Iyas al-Khatatbeh said he sells produce from his home garden for amounts that can reach 2,000 dinars per season, without significant marketing difficulty, either through direct sales owing to quality or by transporting produce to wholesalers. He said fruit trees nonetheless require care and incur costs because of high prices for treatments and fertilisers, and called on the Directorate of Agriculture to supply treatments to farmers free of charge or at subsidised prices.
Al-Khatatbeh said dozens of wholesalers arrive each morning throughout the season to buy fruit from farmers at reasonable prices. Some sell on local stalls to residents; others transport quantities to markets outside the governorate.
Agricultural engineer Maher al-Samadi said Ajloun Governorate is home to dozens of varieties of local summer fruit, most notably grapes and figs, and that they have become an important additional income source for families who direct any surplus toward other household needs.
Al-Samadi said the summer season lasts approximately five months, running from the beginning of June to the end of October each year, and encompasses figs, loquats, berries, quince, apples, peaches and jujubes. He said grapes and figs are the most widespread and consistently well-priced.
He said many farmers in the governorate have reclaimed rocky land that had been unsuitable for agriculture for years, and that it now generates significant financial returns. He noted that some varieties, such as jujube and almond, sold for more than five dinars per kilogram at the start of their season. He added that the governorate's varying temperatures extend the grape season across different elevations, from as early as June in the Shafa Ghoriya areas to the end of September in cooler areas such as Ras Munif, Ishtafina and Sakhra.
The head of the Greater Ajloun Municipality Committee, Muhammad al-Bashabsheh, said the Ajloun rural market project, expected to be completed by the end of this year, should be included on the governorate's tourist map. He described it as a pioneering project that will support the marketing of Ajloun agricultural products and handicrafts produced by women from across the municipality.
Al-Bashabsheh said the project, once implemented, will revitalise trade, promote local tourism and support the economic development of the governorate. He said it will create 180 job opportunities, comprising 110 seasonal positions and 70 permanent posts.
He said the project will include public facilities, display squares for seasonal agricultural products and handicrafts, permanent retail shops, offices, an administration building, a cafeteria, a restaurant, training halls, green spaces and children's play areas.
Three years ago, the Ministry of Agriculture established a permanent exhibition for Ajloun summer products in the Ishtafina tourist area to help farmers reach buyers from across Jordan and from outside the country. The ministry said at the time that the initiative aimed to create a permanent market for local products, generate job opportunities for Jordanian families, and contribute to reducing poverty and unemployment, while encouraging associations and families to improve quality and increase production.
The Director of Agriculture in the governorate, Engineer Sitan al-Sarhan, confirmed that summer fruits, particularly grapes and figs, are in strong demand and are cultivated across considerable areas of agricultural land in Ajloun. He said the directorate continuously provides farmers with guidance and necessary treatments to combat agricultural pests, and that dozens of farmers have benefited from the grape trellises project supported by the Ministry of Agriculture in previous years.
This article was originally written in Arabic by Amer Khatatbeh for Al Ghad. It was translated into English with AI assistance and edited by Jordan News.
