Jerash: As soon as the olive harvest begins, the fields of Jerash governorate turn into a beehive, drawing hundreds of workers. The farming season is more than an annual fruit-picking event. It is a vital artery for local production, providing temporary jobs that revive village economies and support households.
اضافة اعلان
With the Jerash Agriculture Directorate expecting production of about 60,000 tonnes of fruit this season, an increase of 20%, the active role of rural women stands out alongside farmers and press owners. This strengthens economic solidarity and community development, reaching from the fields into the services and processing sectors.
Seasonal workers are a key pillar of this season's success. Women are a real partner in driving production and securing an extra income on which hundreds of families depend. They also energise a full network of related services, including olive washing plants, oil presses, transport and processing.
Jobs that boost household income
During the harvest, Jerash's fields offer fertile ground for rural women's work, and many village women see this season as a golden opportunity to strengthen their economic and social presence.
Worker Muntaha Al-Jarawin explains that the season gives women a real chance to work in the fields and pick fruit. She notes that farmers' rush to bring in the crop on time creates a wide and continuous demand for female labour.
She says: "For us village women, the olive season is not just a seasonal job. It is a source of income we look forward to eagerly from one year to the next." She adds: "The days we spend picking the fruit mean a great deal to our families. The wages we earn directly help us cover an important part of our household commitments, especially with winter coming and the needs that come with it, such as stocking up on supplies, school expenses and clothes for the children."
She explains that the work gives women a sense of self-reliance and the ability to support their husbands in facing life's burdens. She stresses that seasonal work lets women benefit from the farming period and helps them provide part of their families' needs, especially as the olive season offers a set of job opportunities during the year.
Worker Najah Al-Masri shares this view: "Our families' lives in the villages are closely tied to the farming seasons, especially the olive season. When the harvest begins, we feel life has returned to lift our homes." She adds: "We work hard to gather the crop, because the money from this work helps us repay accumulated debts or buy basic needs we had been waiting for this opportunity to afford."
She notes that the number of jobs depends on the volume of production and farmers' need for female workers during the harvest, which sees growing activity in the fields. Tasks are shared between women and men to complete the fruit-gathering, strengthening women's presence in seasonal farm work in the villages.
Worker Fadiya Rizq Allah says the olive season offers women a chance to take part in work outside the home and earn a seasonal income. She says: "Our presence in the fields during the harvest proves the role of rural women and their real standing in building their families' stability. The seasonal income we earn gives us greater flexibility in managing living costs, and makes us true partners in shouldering responsibility with the family."
Farmer Ma'moun Dhiebat confirms that the olive season increases the need for labour in the fields, especially at the peak of the harvest. Farmers try to gather the fruit and complete the crop within the right period, which requires hiring female and male workers depending on the size of the land and the volume of production.
He adds that farming activity linked to olives extends to several stages after picking, including gathering, transporting, washing and pressing the fruit. This affects the workload of those in trades and services linked to the season, and creates temporary opportunities for different groups of workers.
He says: "When the peak of the olive harvest arrives, we realise that relying on female workers is one of the secrets of good-quality crops. Women handle the trees and their fruit with great care, ensuring branches are not broken and fruit is not damaged, which is vital for keeping production high in the coming year." He explains that female workers in the fields do not just solve the labour shortage, but also ensure work is done skilfully, honestly and on time, making women an essential partner in the success of the season.
Olive press worker Ahmad Al-Atoum explains that the season brings activity to the presses as fruit arrives from the fields. He notes that preparing the olives requires a series of stages before they reach the presses, which increases the workload at these facilities during the season.
He points out that the activity at the washing plants depends on the volume of crop arriving from farms, and that their work is one link in the chain of services on which olive production depends, from picking and transport through to washing, processing and pressing. He stresses that this work needs skilled and hard-working hands, creating more job opportunities for women.
A growing farming sector
Jerash Agriculture Director Dr Ala Al-Mahasneh says the olive harvest in Jerash is not just a traditional farming season, but an economic and social event that brings villages back to life and provides livelihood security for families and seasonal workers. She stresses that Jerash is one of the most important agricultural governorates producing olive oil and olives nationwide.
She notes that the area planted with olive trees in the governorate is about 132,000 dunams. Fruit production is estimated at about 60,000 tonnes, an increase of around 20% on the previous season. Olive oil production is about 11,400 tonnes, along with about 3,000 tonnes of pickled olives.
She adds that the governorate has 15 licensed olive presses, reflecting how far the activity linked to the crop extends from the fields into pressing and processing facilities, and confirming the season's importance in driving a number of farming and service activities linked to olive production.
