Ajloun: Supporting, funding and training bodies are seeking to encourage farmers in Ajloun Governorate to expand innovative and modern agricultural experiments, most notably vertical farming, to complement the traditional and horizontal farming widespread in the governorate.
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Although those running these programs say the governorate is seeing growing interest in vertical farming applications as an innovative solution to limited farmland and water shortages, these projects and experiments remain limited and fall short of what is needed, awaiting more support, guidance and extension services.
According to those running these farms, the most prominent efforts and initiatives in the governorate are field school projects, modern and tropical farming, aromatic plant projects, and vertical farming projects.
Sohaib Rababa, executive director of the Change Brokers Center for Sustainable Development in Ajloun, said the center, in cooperation with the Ajloun Directorate of Agriculture, continues to implement training programs and field visits under the "Field School for Modern and Sustainable Agricultural Techniques" projects. He pointed to a nearby project at King Abdullah II School of Excellence, which was visited to introduce young people and farmers to the components of vertical farming systems and how they operate.
He noted that, through educational and school-based experiments, vertical farming gardens have been opened in some schools in the governorate, such as Sakhra Secondary School for Girls, aiming to instil a culture of modern and sustainable farming among female students and the new generation. He also highlighted some standout experiments in the governorate, such as "Bioselva Towers," which apply soil-based vertical farming systems within the forests of Ajloun, to demonstrate the ability of these systems to achieve dense production without requiring vast areas or large amounts of water.
Making the best use of space
From the perspective of agricultural engineer Maher Al Sammadi, the advantages of vertical farming, especially in Ajloun, will enable farmers to make optimal use of space. It suits Ajloun's mountainous terrain and the limited amount of flat farmland. It also helps rationalize water consumption and reduce losses compared with traditional methods and horizontal farming. He stressed that supporting small projects offers promising opportunities for household and youth production projects that boost rural families' incomes.
Farmer Mohammad Al Qudah affirms that the introductory visits organized by sponsoring bodies for these types of farming deepen participants' knowledge and broaden their understanding of vertical farming techniques, and let them get close to the components of this system, how it works and the technologies used in it.
He noted that the visits give participants the chance to connect the information they gained in earlier training with practical applications, and to learn how to use available space and the efficiency of resource use in vertical farming systems. They also discuss how this technology can be used in agricultural and productive projects and its role in making the best use of available space, especially given the limited farmland and the need to develop more efficient and sustainable production methods.
Al Qudah added that the visits allow participants to examine the system's components and operating mechanisms, learn about its key technical requirements, and discuss how this technology can be used in agricultural and productive projects. This helps diversify production methods, improve resource efficiency, and encourages them to explore innovative farming solutions that support sustainable production and open new prospects for agricultural projects.
Farmer Hussein Al Khatatbeh says that despite success stories with high returns from some limited experiments in modern farming in the governorate, they remain without an economic impact across the governorate. He affirmed that farmers have not yet expanded the experience to a meaningful share compared with the traditional crops that dominate most of the farmland in the governorate.
He called for expanding these farming methods and proposing solutions to ensure their growth and flourishing, given that the environment is suitable for vertical farming and modern crops such as tropical fruit and rare aromatic plants in most areas of the governorate, and for ensuring they move beyond the experimental stage to widespread adoption.
Al Khatatbeh added that several reasons in the governorate call for moving away from traditional farming, most importantly falling prices amid surplus production, which now affects various fruits in their seasons and causes farmers heavy losses. He called for directing support and providing supervision, training, grants and loans toward the modern and vertical farming methods that are most viable and easiest to market.
The farmland being used in the governorate, according to figures from the Directorate of Agriculture, exceeds 100,000 dunams, of which 82,000 dunams are planted with olives and 21,000 dunams with traditional crops such as citrus, grapes and fruit. Forest land accounts for 34% of the governorate's total area of 419 square kilometers.
Financial support and guidance
Agricultural expert Mohammad Abu Adi Anab says the limited farmland in the governorate, which has no commercial value for grain cultivation, the spread of traditional crops that have become unviable and suffer from weak marketing and falling prices, such as grapes and olives, and the limited sources of irrigation water, all call for a shift toward the most viable modern crops. This is especially so given that the governorate has suitable environments for many modern crops with strong marketing prospects that yield good incomes.
He explained that modern crops that have proven successful on small farms include plants such as lavender for extracting essential oils, and tropical fruit trees such as mango, papaya and custard apple.
Anab stressed that farmers are ready to switch to types of modern farming if financial support, advice and guidance are provided by the relevant bodies, particularly since the governorate's varied climate, ranging from cold to temperate to warm, may help these vertical farming methods and some tropical fruits succeed.
It is worth noting that a success story in modern farming was recorded in the Rajib area, in the form of a farm specializing in a range of fruits native to tropical regions, which has become highly productive and includes many varieties, such as mango, avocado, papaya, moringa, kiwi and custard apple. There has also been a successful experiment in growing chestnuts and hazelnuts in cold-climate areas of Ebeen, Samta and Sakhra.
For his part, the governorate's director of agriculture, engineer Saytan Al Sarhan, affirms that the governorate's nature and climatic diversity make it suitable for various modern crops with high economic viability, as well as vertical farming. He noted that the governorate is still below the required level in these crops, which a limited number of farmers and agricultural specialists have shown to succeed in several areas of the governorate.
He also affirmed the directorate's support for these crops and its commitment to spreading the experience across the environmentally suitable parts of the governorate, which will have positive effects on farmers and the national economy, especially since many traditional crops have become costly and unviable, suffering from weak marketing and low prices.
Al Sarhan pointed to several success stories in vertical and modern farming with economic viability, which the Directorate of Agriculture's staff are following in different areas of the governorate, such as the cultivation of dragon fruit, mushrooms and strawberries, which require plastic greenhouses.
He added that official support for these crops includes loans, rehabilitation, training workshops, and guidance and advice, down to the finest details, provided by Ministry of Agriculture staff on the best ways to care for these types of crops.
Source: Al-Ghad. Reporting by Amer Khattabeh.
