Agriculture in the northern Jordan Valley faces growing challenges from pests that threaten crops and cut into farmers' incomes. Chief among them is the fruit fly, which farmers say damages fruit, causes it to drop and reduces its quality. Farmers are calling for better control methods and a shift from technical studies to practical measures that protect production and limit repeated losses.
اضافة اعلان
Controlling this pest is especially important in a region where many residents depend heavily on farming as their main source of income. For many families, the growing season is the means of covering daily living costs and financial obligations, including household expenses and farm supplies, so any drop in production adds to farmers' economic burden.
The Jordan Valley is the country's food basket, thanks to agricultural and climatic conditions that allow a wide range of vegetables and fruits to be grown. Citrus cultivation accounts for about 90% of agricultural activity in the district, making the protection of crops and the continuity of production an economic and social priority.
The danger of the fruit fly is not limited to damaging the fruit itself, but extends to the production and marketing stages. The female insect lays its eggs inside the fruit, and the larvae feed on its tissues, causing it to rot, lose quality and sometimes drop before it reaches the market. This means losing part of a crop into which the farmer has invested costs for irrigation, labour, fertilisers, pesticides and other farm supplies.
According to farmer Mohammad Al-Riyahneh, the insect is very harmful and has caused fruit to drop. He called on the Directorate of Agriculture to work with farmers and to protect crops from the damage they suffer.
Al-Riyahneh added that the spread of the insect makes it necessary to step up field monitoring and provide farmers with the guidance they need to deal with infestation and limit its effects. He said protecting production requires ongoing cooperation between agricultural bodies and farmers, especially as farmers depend on the season to secure their income.
Fears of financial losses
Farmer Ali Quwaisem said the losses caused by this insect during growing seasons are very large, and can lead to financial losses that affect a farmer's ability to continue producing. He added that they could also have knock-on effects on imports if local production falls.
These losses are harder to bear given the high financial obligations linked to farming. A farmer cannot stop their expenses just because their crop has been damaged. They must still cover the costs of land, irrigation and labour, and prepare for the next season, at a time when the returns from a damaged season may not be enough to make up what has been spent.
Faced with these challenges, engineer Fares Al-Mashraqi, head of the prevention department at the Directorate of Agriculture, said the sterile insect technique is one of the scientific options being studied for controlling the fruit fly.
He explained that the technique involves rearing male insects and sterilising them by scientific means, then releasing them into targeted areas to mate with wild females without producing offspring able to continue. This helps reduce the pest population gradually if the programme is applied regularly and on an appropriate scale.
Al-Mashraqi said the technique's success requires more than simply releasing sterilised insects. It depends on an implementation plan based on field data and scientific studies, which identifies the target areas, implementation mechanisms, responsible bodies and required resources, along with clear indicators for measuring results.
He said the proposed plan begins with a field survey of farms in the northern Jordan Valley to identify the most affected areas, assess the level of fruit fly infestation, and monitor crops and the stages of the season most vulnerable to infection. This would also require setting traps, monitoring insect numbers regularly, and establishing a database to help the relevant bodies pinpoint outbreaks and prioritise intervention.
In the next phase, Al-Mashraqi said, a technical study should be prepared to assess how suitable the sterile insect technique is for the region's agricultural and environmental conditions, the requirements for producing or sourcing sterilised males, the means of transporting and releasing them, and the right timing and density needed for effectiveness. The technical staff, laboratories and financial and logistical resources needed to implement the programme must also be identified.
He stressed the need to begin applying the technique in a specific pilot farming area, under a release and monitoring programme based on scientific principles, tracking insect numbers and infestation rates in fruit before and after implementation. This stage would allow the results to be assessed objectively, determine whether the technique succeeds, and assess whether it can be expanded to other parts of the northern Jordan Valley.
He pointed out that the technique should not be a standalone measure, but part of an integrated programme combining monitoring, traps, agricultural extension and preventive measures, along with educating farmers on how to detect infestation and deal with it, and providing direct channels for reporting the spread of the insect. Implementation also requires a timetable, clearly defined responsibilities for participating bodies, allocated resources, and an announced mechanism for tracking and evaluating progress.
As for measuring the programme's success, he said it should be based on practical indicators, including a fall in insect numbers caught in traps, a decline in the share of fruit damaged or dropped, and improved crop quality and marketable volumes. Based on the results of the pilot phase, a decision can be taken to expand the programme or adjust measures in light of what field monitoring reveals.
In this context, the Directorate of Agriculture in the northern Jordan Valley hosted a joint field delegation from the Ministries of Agriculture and Energy, to discuss preparing technical and scientific programmes and studies, examine the use of the sterile insect technique to control the fruit fly, and review the agricultural situation, technical capabilities and requirements for implementing the proposed programmes.
The director of agriculture in the northern Jordan Valley, Engineer Mohammad Al-Naeem, stressed the importance of partnership and coordination between government bodies to develop scientific and technical solutions that protect plant production, serve farmers and strengthen the sustainability of the agricultural sector.
Farmers said the most important step after the visit is to turn what was discussed into a clear work plan, setting out when the field survey will start, the stages of study and trial, the bodies responsible for implementation, and the results expected.
They said there is a need for institutional coordination that links scientific research to field application and ensures farmers take part in implementation, in order to protect production and income sources in the northern Jordan Valley, and to strengthen the agricultural sector's ability to confront pests and sustain its role in providing food.
