A flagship national report has urged the government to continue to press for the Kingdom’s rights to shared waters with neighboring countries in order to address the country’s long-standing water shortage.
The Economic and Social Council’s latest State of the Country Report 2021 advised pushing forward with Red Sea desalination projects, describing this option as strategic for resolving Jordan’s water crisis.
The report’s authors also urged drastic legislative and technical solutions to water loss, as well as the development of a progressive strategy to stop groundwater depletion, especially given that the amount of water projected to be desalinated in Aqaba is far less than the required amount.
The report emphasized the necessity of using current water-saving technology to address issues such as inconsistent water supply and groundwater depletion, as well as increasing the efficiency of water use in agriculture to provide fresh water for other uses.
In the case of agriculture, the research recommended liberalizing the market for agricultural inputs and pursuing greater governance of supervision and control functions, while cautioning against role duplication among multiple stakeholders.
To transition the agricultural industry from an unorganized to an organized sector, the report recommended providing agricultural officials more powers and amplifying farmers’ registration across the Kingdom.
Furthermore, the report advised that internal marketing channels be improved, as well as the quality of agricultural products in local markets, in order to reduce food loss and waste.
Source: Jordan News Agency