Jordan is developing strategies to increase the agricultural sector’s resilience to climate change as water scarcity, lower precipitation and rising temperatures are taking a toll on the fields, where more than 70% of total agriculture is rain-fed.

The agricultural sector of the Kingdom, which employs hundreds of thousands and directly contributes about 5.5% to the country’s GDP, is one of the most climate-sensitive of all its economic sectors.

Jordan, being the second poorest country in terms of water scarcity, has now enhanced its commitment to the international climate change governance system by raising its emission reduction target from 14% to 31%.

The multi-pronged strategy and action plan to mitigate the implications of climate change is based on optimally utilising available water resources, introducing advanced agricultural technologies, and training farmers.

MoCCAE Launches Dynamics of Circularity Series

Several projects are already underway or in the tender process to plant several dunums of land across Jordan using modern and efficient watering techniques to ensure the sustainability of the project.

The project to plant one million trees is part of Jordan’s commitment to plant 10 million trees in the upcoming 10 years as well as the development of additional 100 water harvesting structures and wells.

Minister of Agriculture, Khalid Hneifat, said: “We are training farmers on how to optimally use the water resources.

"This year, we plan to provide around $56 million zero-interest loans to farmers, up from the $50 million that we provided last year and will heavily focus on scaling up the use of hydroponic and aquaponic farming."

Read more: Utilities Middle East Hosts Third Edition of Annual Water Week