Jordan covers an area of about 89 000 km2 and is characterized by a mostly mediterranean climate (arid to semi-arid) with more than 90 percent of the country receiving less than 200 mm annual precipitation (ref).  Jordan is one of the world’s most water-scarce countries where groundwater is a major water supply for domestic and agricultural sectors and contributes by around 55 percent to the total water usage (AQUASTAT, 2020). Currently, the groundwater situation in Jordan is critical as it is over-exploited and the level of the groundwater is continuously decreasing.

While agriculture represents only around 3 percent of the total land of the country, irrigation consumes about 51 percent of the country’s water resources. Water scarcity remains a major obstacle to agricultural development in the country while the demand on food is continuously growing due to the population growth and the influx of refugees from the surrounding countries. 

In response to the water and agricultural challenges in the country, WaPOR phase 2 project aims to assist Jordan in the implementation of the following main activities identified in concertation with local stakeholders:

• Irrigation performance assessments for improving irrigation water efficiency and productivity,
• Groundwater assessment (abstraction and recharge) for its sustainable management,
• The integration of WaPOR data into the national water information system for more detailed water budget reporting,
• Capacity building and tools co-development

Project milestones:

July 2021 project inception workshop
January 2022: signature of LoA between National Agricultural Research Center and the FAO for development of a mobile app to assist farmers
July 2022: introductory training
January 2023: data validation workshop