Karak — Farmers in the Southern Jordan Valley are counting on an agreement to operate the water transfer from Wadi Ibn Hammad, recently signed by the Jordan Valley Authority and the Mazraa and Haditha Farm Water Users Association, to increase irrigation water reaching their farms and ease their recurring hardship caused by water shortages, particularly during the summer growing seasons when crops require more irrigation.
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Farmers hope the agreement will provide an additional water source, reduce damage to crops and improve agricultural working conditions in the area, amid challenges facing the sector due to declining water supplies and falling prices for vegetables and fruit.
Irrigation water shortages have caused significant losses for farmers, particularly by drying out crops that require a continuous water supply, such as bananas, molokhia and other crops.
In recent years, given the importance of irrigation water supplies, water users associations have been established in the Southern Jordan Valley to manage relations between the Jordan Valley Authority and farmers regarding irrigation water.
Farmers affiliated with water users associations in the Southern Jordan Valley, particularly in Ghor Al-Mazraa and Ghor Al-Safi, have suffered severe shortages of irrigation water allocated to their crops in recent seasons, especially during summer cultivation.
The main causes of the shortages include declining water availability and reduced supplies from primary sources, such as Tannour Dam, through the Jordan Valley Authority’s water network. The shortages have damaged large numbers of crops and agricultural units that depend on fixed water allocations.
Farmers attribute the problem to reduced water allocations, weak infrastructure and illegal encroachments on water network pipelines, including unauthorized water extraction.
A welcome addition to the agricultural sector
Ahmed Al-Nawawseh, a farmer from Ghor Al-Mazraa, said the agreement to supply water from Wadi Ibn Hammad Dam to Ghor Al-Haditha and Ghor Al-Mazraa represents a welcome addition to the agricultural sector in the Southern Jordan Valley. He said it could free farmers from persistent water shortages that damage crops and cause them to dry out during the summer, particularly summer crops and trees.
He added that farmers have been struggling with irrigation water supplies and that the agreement is expected to be a positive step in serving their interests and strengthening the importance of agriculture in the area. The sector has suffered for many years from falling prices for agricultural products as production from the Southern Jordan Valley enters the market.
Al-Nawawseh also stressed the importance of reducing irrigation water prices for farmers, particularly during seasons when they incur losses because of low vegetable and fruit prices.
Farmer Mohammad Huweimel said the agreement to provide farmers with additional irrigation water would help improve agriculture in the Southern Jordan Valley, particularly for farmers in Haditha and Al-Mazraa. He explained that farmers had frequently faced water shortages, especially for certain summer crops that require large amounts of water, as well as trees, including banana trees, which consume substantial quantities of irrigation water.
Huweimel noted that the area has several irrigation water sources, particularly Wadi Al-Karak, Wadi Al-Mujib and a number of local springs.
Farmers in the Southern Jordan Valley have repeatedly pointed to several factors behind shortages in agricultural water supplies, including declining rainfall and the allocation of large quantities of water to mining industries in the area at agriculture’s expense. They have also raised concerns about permits allowing factories to drill wells and the diversion of water from several dams in Karak to serve industrial operations.
In recent years, in response to water shortages, the Jordan Valley Authority, under a government decision, allowed farmers to drill wells in the Jordan Valley. The decision applies to agricultural units on land extending from Al-Adasiyah in the north to Al-Ghuwaybah in the south, covering the entire Southern Jordan Valley, provided the units fall within the Jordan Valley Authority’s irrigation projects.
Strengthening water sources
The latest amendments apply to anyone holding rights to use at least two agricultural units, or one agricultural unit covering an area of 60 dunums or more. Water extracted from a well is free if the amount is less than 75,000 cubic metres; any quantity exceeding that threshold is charged at 100 fils per cubic metre.
The provisions also require agricultural units sharing a well to be located within the same agricultural basin. If the units are in different agricultural basins, the distance between them must not exceed 1,000 metres. The depth of a groundwater well must not exceed 150 metres, and an agricultural unit may not share access to more than one well. Planting new trees on an agricultural unit is also prohibited without the Jordan Valley Authority’s approval.
The agreement between the Jordan Valley Authority and the Mazraa and Haditha Farm Water Users Association to operate the water transfer from Wadi Ibn Hammad was signed in partnership with the private sector. It aims to strengthen available water sources and increase supplies reaching agricultural units, supporting farmers and improving the efficiency of the area’s water system.
The agreement was signed by Jordan Valley Authority Secretary-General Engineer Hisham Al-Haisa and Mazraa and Haditha Farm Water Users Association Chairman Fares Al-Shaher. The signing was attended by officials from the Jordan Valley Authority, representatives of water users associations in the area, the president of the General Union of Farmers and the president of the Karak Farmers Union.
Al-Haisa said: “The agreement is part of the Authority’s efforts to strengthen water sources, improve water management efficiency and deliver supplies to agricultural units.” He noted that operating the water transfer from Wadi Ibn Hammad would provide an additional water source and increase the quantities available to farmers.
He added that the agreement reflects the Jordan Valley Authority’s approach to strengthening partnerships with water users associations and enabling them to fulfil their role in managing and operating water sources, thereby improving water distribution efficiency and the quality of services provided to farmers.
For his part, Fares Al-Shaher, chairman of the Ghor Al-Mazraa and Ghor Al-Haditha Water Users Association, emphasized the agreement’s importance in supporting the association and serving farmers. He said operating the Wadi Ibn Hammad water transfer would strengthen water sources and increase supplies reaching agricultural units in the area, enabling farmers to grow a variety of crops and supporting agricultural activity and farmers in the Southern Jordan Valley.
Al-Shaher added that the agreement had also provided the site with additional staff and increased the association’s financial revenues, strengthening its ability to continue serving farmers and managing and operating the water system efficiently.
Source: Al-Ghad. Reporting: Hishal Al-Adailah
