AMMAN — Around
30.000 farmers would be at risk of imprisonment and legal pursue if Defense
Order 28 was canceled, placing farmers in front of accumulated debts incurred as
a result of financial losses caused by weather conditions, inaccessibility to
the Syrian market, and rising government fees.
اضافة اعلان
Defense Order 28
was implemented as part of the government’s efforts to combat the COVID-19
pandemic and states that “The implementation of debtor imprisonment decisions
issued in accordance with the provisions of Article 22 of the Implementation
Law No. 25 of 2007 shall be postponed, provided that the total amounts
adjudicated do not exceed JD100,000.”
President of Farmers Union of Jordan Valley Adnan Khaddam told
Jordan
News that in the event that the defense order is canceled “many farmers and
their families would be at risk, since the sons would vouch for their fathers,
placing the entire family at risk of being legally pursued.”
Khaddam said
that one of the main reasons behind the accumulated debt and the losses
incurred by the farmers is the closure of the Syrian border, which used to be
one of the leading markets for Jordanian produce and transit into Eastern
European markets. The two other factors, he added, are water scarcity and the
increase in the cost of production.
“The number of
farmers and farmlands are declining due to weather conditions and increased
expenses, which is threatening our food security,” Khaddam said.
Mahmoud Al-Oran,
secretary-general of the Jordan Farmers Union, told
Jordan News that
climate change and the recent frost waves had a significant impact on farmers.
However, he explained that the increase in the cost of production material,
like fertilizers, pesticides, and seeds, has further increased farmers’ losses
and debt.
Oran noted that
the prices of products have remained unchanged for the past 10 years, “while
the cost of production, among many other things has gone up, coupled by a rise
in work permit fees.”
“How can we preserve and
maintain food security when farmers are subjected to numerous taxes and fees,”
Oran questioned.
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