Water and sand: is groundwater-based farming in Jordan's desert sustainable?
Irrigated agriculture in Jordan's highlands relies on overexploited groundwater. Drops in water tables and water quality, but also tougher policy measures by the government, threaten the sustainability of this activity which has long thrived on lax law enforcement and cheap desert land. This paper i...
| Autores principales: | , |
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| Formato: | Journal Article |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
Elsevier
2017
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/89166 |
| _version_ | 1855532151866392576 |
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| author | Naber, M.A. Molle, Francois |
| author_browse | Molle, Francois Naber, M.A. |
| author_facet | Naber, M.A. Molle, Francois |
| author_sort | Naber, M.A. |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | Irrigated agriculture in Jordan's highlands relies on overexploited groundwater. Drops in water tables and water quality, but also tougher policy measures by the government, threaten the sustainability of this activity which has long thrived on lax law enforcement and cheap desert land. This paper is based on field work in two locations of Azraq groundwater basin [around the Azraq oasis and in the northern part (Mafraq)], and first presents farm typologies which show the variability of farm gross margins and the contrast between the two zones. While Mafraq stands for capital-intensive fruit-tree cultivation on legal land/wells, Azraq's agriculture is largely based on olive cultivation and wells that are either illegal or granted permits with higher block tariffs, and has a return that is only one tenth of Mafraq's. The paper reviews the constraints and changes in land, energy, water, labor and input costs and reflects on their bearing on current dynamics and future prospects. While Mafraq is found to be largely immune to policy changes and resilient to foreseeable changes in factor prices or markets, Azraq's future is threatened by various vulnerabilities, including salinization of groundwater, rising energy and labor costs that, in the long run, are likely to be overcome only by farmers emulating the Mafraq intensification model, or accepting temporary losses in the hope of a future legalization of land and wells. Solar energy now emerges as a trump card, in particular for illegal farms which, on the other hand, are challenged by recent tough water pricing regulations that are shown to make them unprofitable. The government's resolve in enforcing these regulation is put to test and will largely decide the future of Azraq's agriculture. |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | CGSpace89166 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publishDateRange | 2017 |
| publishDateSort | 2017 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| publisherStr | Elsevier |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace891662024-05-01T08:18:28Z Water and sand: is groundwater-based farming in Jordan's desert sustainable? Naber, M.A. Molle, Francois groundwater irrigated farming farming systems deserts highlands water table water quality water productivity water policy water rates surface water cultivated land cropping patterns cost benefit analysis profitability labour Irrigated agriculture in Jordan's highlands relies on overexploited groundwater. Drops in water tables and water quality, but also tougher policy measures by the government, threaten the sustainability of this activity which has long thrived on lax law enforcement and cheap desert land. This paper is based on field work in two locations of Azraq groundwater basin [around the Azraq oasis and in the northern part (Mafraq)], and first presents farm typologies which show the variability of farm gross margins and the contrast between the two zones. While Mafraq stands for capital-intensive fruit-tree cultivation on legal land/wells, Azraq's agriculture is largely based on olive cultivation and wells that are either illegal or granted permits with higher block tariffs, and has a return that is only one tenth of Mafraq's. The paper reviews the constraints and changes in land, energy, water, labor and input costs and reflects on their bearing on current dynamics and future prospects. While Mafraq is found to be largely immune to policy changes and resilient to foreseeable changes in factor prices or markets, Azraq's future is threatened by various vulnerabilities, including salinization of groundwater, rising energy and labor costs that, in the long run, are likely to be overcome only by farmers emulating the Mafraq intensification model, or accepting temporary losses in the hope of a future legalization of land and wells. Solar energy now emerges as a trump card, in particular for illegal farms which, on the other hand, are challenged by recent tough water pricing regulations that are shown to make them unprofitable. The government's resolve in enforcing these regulation is put to test and will largely decide the future of Azraq's agriculture. 2017-09 2017-11-01T05:46:58Z 2017-11-01T05:46:58Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/89166 en Open Access Elsevier Naber, M. A.; Molle, Francois. 2017. Water and sand: is groundwater-based farming in Jordan's desert sustainable? Groundwater for Sustainable Development, 5:28-37. doi: 10.1016/j.gsd.2017.03.005 |
| spellingShingle | groundwater irrigated farming farming systems deserts highlands water table water quality water productivity water policy water rates surface water cultivated land cropping patterns cost benefit analysis profitability labour Naber, M.A. Molle, Francois Water and sand: is groundwater-based farming in Jordan's desert sustainable? |
| title | Water and sand: is groundwater-based farming in Jordan's desert sustainable? |
| title_full | Water and sand: is groundwater-based farming in Jordan's desert sustainable? |
| title_fullStr | Water and sand: is groundwater-based farming in Jordan's desert sustainable? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Water and sand: is groundwater-based farming in Jordan's desert sustainable? |
| title_short | Water and sand: is groundwater-based farming in Jordan's desert sustainable? |
| title_sort | water and sand is groundwater based farming in jordan s desert sustainable |
| topic | groundwater irrigated farming farming systems deserts highlands water table water quality water productivity water policy water rates surface water cultivated land cropping patterns cost benefit analysis profitability labour |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/89166 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT naberma waterandsandisgroundwaterbasedfarminginjordansdesertsustainable AT mollefrancois waterandsandisgroundwaterbasedfarminginjordansdesertsustainable |