The Water Perspective in the Jordanian Agricultural Export
Competitiveness “An Analysis of Selected Products in Jordan Valley”
Emad K. Al-Karablieh
Associate Professor
Department of Agricultural Economics & Agribusiness Management
Faculty of Agriculture, University of Jordan
Amman – Jordan
Phone : 962 6 5355000 ext 22477
Email: karablie@ju.edu.jo
Amer S. Jabarin
Associate Professor
Department of Agricultural Economics & Agribusiness Management
Faculty of Agriculture, University of Jordan
Amman – Jordan
Phone : 962 6 5355000 ext 22500
Email: ajabarin@ju.edu.jo
1
The Water Perspective in the Jordanian Agricultural Export
Competitiveness “An Analysis of Selected Products in Jordan Valley”
Abstract
The main objective of this paper is to analyze the relationships between the productive process
and the commercial trade with water resources used by them. For that the goal is to find out, by
means of the estimation of water embodied in the exported crops which have the highest export
competitiveness and lower water consumption. The finding contradicts not only the comparative
advantages theory but also the resources sustainability logic. This conclusion is derived from the
great exports of water via tomatoes and low profitable vegetables from producers’ perspective but
not economical from social perspectives as shown in domestic resource coefficient. The diversion
between financial and economic profitability is due to heavily irrigation water subsidy. The
results confirm that Jordan utilizes large amounts of water in its exports, and in turn, it does not
export goods with low water requirements. The potential saving would be very significant and
agricultural sector need to modify the use of water to a great extent in order to reach significant
water savings and an environmental sustainability. Jordan has to implement policies that reduced,
or even abandoned, the export and the production of water-intensive crops. Therefore, they have
to be replaced with either imports or crops that optimize the water resources
Keyword: Competitiveness, DRC, virtual water, horticultural crops
2
The Water Perspective in the Jordanian Agricultural Export
Competitiveness “An Analysis of Selected Products in Jordan Valley”
Introduction
According to Porter’s model, there are five forces which widely define the rules of
competition in the industry and highlights what is important in order to have a long-term
competitive advantage. The model summarizes that the competitiveness of the industry is
influenced by five forces and states that the collective strength of these forces determines the
ultimate profit potential of the industry. In deed, the five forces are: entrants, industry
competitors, suppliers, buyers, and substitutes (Porter, 1980). Additionally, Porter emphasizes the
role of the government on the competitiveness of the industry through its influence on these five
forces (Argyres and McGahan, 2002). According to Porter’s five-force model, suppliers have the
control over the competition through their bargaining power. The factors that tend to increase
suppliers’ bargaining power are: the few number of suppliers, no substitutes to the supplier’s
product, and the supplier with more important customers. The supplier’s input is critical of the
production and high switching costs from the supplier; that is, when switching costs to new
inputs such as water are low, the threat of losing competitive advantage is high.
The depletion of natural resources and climate changes have recently been related to the
political life and played a growing role in the field of business competition. In a country like
Jordan and as a result of climatic changes in addition to the variation in the rainfall precipitation
3
(IPCC, 2007) , it is expected to make a change in land use and the agricultural cropping pattern.
In fact, the main land use change in the country is urbanization (population growth rate being
relatively high, 2.4 % in 2007), deforestation, expansion of rainfed cultivation of barley, and
irrigation in the Badia (Al-Bakri et al., 2008; Khresat et al., 2008).Climate changes in Jordan are
mainly including warming increasing 2 oC due to the reductions in annual rainfall totals, a large
regional variations in precipitation changes due to climate change.
Water use and utilization are increasingly inspected, monitored, regulated, and priced.
While individual managers disagree about how immediate and significant the impact of climate
change will be, agricultural enterprises need to take action now. Enterprises that continue treating
climate changes solely as an issue of corporate social international responsibility rather than a
business problem will risk the greatest consequences. The effects of climate on farms’ operations
are now very tangible and make sure that the issue is best addressed with adaptation strategies.
Hence, climate changes challenge the existing water resources management practices by
adding further uncertainty. Knowing and understanding these challenges and their impact on the
competitiveness conditions and socioeconomic behaviours are crucial for sustainable
development of agriculture. The adaptation for changes in the competitive environment will play
a major role at this stage since it enhances the potential of sustainability. In deed, the ministry of
agriculture considers the rural to the urban migration as a key problem in Jordan. The growing
urban population will increase water demands, create more competition towards water resources
with other sectors such as agriculture. This causes implications in the heavily irrigated area of
Jordan Valley. Experts from Jordan have argued that the production of many crops grown in the
4
Jordan Valley Region makes no sense in the economic terms or in terms of water use. In general,
they have argued that same products can be imported at a lower price by relying on virtual water
imports. However, political instability in the wider region has dictated a self-sufficiency policy,
and unless circumstances change, Jordan is likely to continue growing the heavily-irrigated crops
in the Jordan Valley. (Milne et al, 2007)
Jordanian Agricultural Economy
Despite of its low contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 2.6% (the
Central Bank of Jordan, 2007), the agricultural sector is considered as one of the important
sectors in the Jordanian economy. The importance of the agricultural sector stems from the fact
that it is not only the major source of food items especially fruits and vegetables but also one of
the sources of hard currencies originated from exports. In addition, the agro-industrial sector is
characterized by a large number of small enterprises. The vast majority of the irrigated
agricultural production is in the form of fresh fruits and vegetables. As indicated in Table 1, more
than ninety percent of the irrigated areas in Jordan are oriented for production of fruits and
vegetables. Therefore the analysis will focus on the status of the competitiveness of fresh
vegetables. Jordan is one of the leading countries in the region in terms of horticultural exports to
the Arabic Gulf countries and to some EU states. The total exports amounted to 3,179 million JD
whereas the agricultural exports amounted to 490 million JD, which in turn forms 13% of the
total exports amounts. The amount of vegetable exports amounted to 262 million JD, which
forms 53% of total agricultural exports amounts. The Total volume of horticultural exports
amounted to the record figure in 2007 which is 735 thousand tons of which 695 thousand tons are
vegetables, and 40 thousand tons are fruits; whereas the total volume of exports in 2006 was 578
thousand tons of which 538 thousand tons were vegetables. The total agricultural production of
5
vegetables in 2006 amounted to 1,446 thousand tons; whereas the production of fruits amounted
to 456 thousand tons of which the one-third was olive. In other words, the vegetable exports in
2006 represented more than one-third of Jordan production; whereas the fruits exports formed
only 10 % of the national production of fruits.
Table 1 Irrigated and non-irrigated areas under tree crops, field crops, and vegetables in 2006
Crops
Tree Crops
Field Crops
Vegetables
Total
Total Area
(Dunum)
863,359
1,235,890
423,106
2,522,356
Irrigated Area
(Dunum)
337,345
88,567
408,616
834,530
Nob-Irrigated Area
(Dunum)
526,013
1,147,322
14,490
1,687,826
Jordan is forecasted to be the first in the world to “run out” of water (Allan, 2001.)
Analysis of Jordan’s population-water resources equation for 2006 showed that it is grossly out
of balance, possessing about 350 m3/capita compared to 1,700 m3/capita needed to satisfy its
municipal, industrial, and agricultural needs (Salameh & Haddadin, 2006). The amount of water
used in Jordan’s agriculture depends on the availability of resources. In 2002, this sector
consumed about 1,377 mcm (million cubic meters), consisting of 693 mcm green water
(amounting to 80% of its average annual potential of 866 mcm) and 684 mcm of irrigation water
consisting of: 356 mcm of blue water from surface and ground sources, 167 mcm of overabstraction from renewable aquifers, 89 mcm of fossil water and 72 mcm of treated wastewater
(Haddadin, 2007). Of the 684 mcm irrigation water, about 250 mcm was used to irrigate 300000
dunums in the region of Jordan Valley and 434 mcm were used outside the Valley in the
highlands. As a result of water scarcity and climate changes, it is supposed that a reduction in the
agricultural land entails demographic shifts from rural to urban areas alongside with all of the
social ills and financial burdens such shifts cause the society. The economic impact of water
diversion away from agriculture, on the other hand, entails a higher degree of dependency on
6
food imports and a lower indigenous ability to provide agricultural exports. This will increase
pressure on the country’s foreign exchange reserves to service imports in the already highlyindebted economy
Objective
In a country which is internationally considered among the five poorest countries in the
world on a per capita basis ( ) and has already reached or fast approached the limits of their
indigenous water supplies (Brooks, 2007), it is believed that the high water demand for exports
should cover the opportunity cost of water used in producing and exporting the exported food
products. Thus, the main objective of this paper is to investigate the competitiveness of Jordan
horticultural exports from a water perspective. In other words, this research attempts to answer
the question: can Jordanian horticultural exports cover the opportunity cost of water and still
compete in international markets? The sustainable water use in the region requires a shift from
the historic emphasis on increasing water supply to options for reducing and reallocating water
demands
Conceptual framework
An enterprise budget is a written statement for the crop production activity, listing the
production activities, resource requirements, and economic returns. An enterprise budget contains
the following elements: (1) production quantities of primary and secondary products, (2) the
expected market price and gross receipts, (3) the quantities and vales of inputs activities required
for the production process, and (4) the estimated gross margin, net return and break-even price or
break-even quantities to cover the variable or total costs. The break-even point for a product is
the point where total revenue received equals total costs associated with the sale of the product
(TR=TC). A break-even point is typically calculated for businesses to determine if it would be
7
profitable to produce a proposed product as opposed to attempting to modify an existing product;
so it can be made lucrative.
To achieve the above objective, it is necessary to estimate the economic profitability of the
selected crops by using the opportunity cost of water. A comparative advantage coefficient for
the selected crops is needed to be estimated in addition to the returns per cubic meter of water
used in the production process. An estimate and exported “real water” in the form of exported
horticultural products are needed to be quantified. Then comparing the value of exported water
using the shadow price of water with the actual value of current exports is also required.
The Domestic Resource Coefficient (DRC) is used to determine if the production of a
specific crop makes efficient use of the domestic resources. The analysis of comparative
advantage utilizes the DRC concept. The DRC is very important since the policy analyst can use
it to examine the comparative efficiency and growth potentials of the activities range. A DRC
value which is greater than one indicates that the value of domestic resources used to produce the
commodity is greater than the contribution of its value added to the social prices; that is,
comparative disadvantage exists. A DRC value which is less than one indicates that the country
has a comparative advantage in producing the concerned commodity
n
DRC   p j x j
j 1
n
 n

  o j y j   j t j 


j 1
 j 1

(1)
Where: DRC = Domestic Resource Coefficient, P= vector of social prices of non-tradable
resources used per dunum, X=Vector of non-tradable resources used per dunum
8
O= vector of level of tradable output per dunum, Y= vector of social prices of tradable output per
dunum, δ = vector of level of tradable inputs used per dunum, T = vector of social prices of
tradable inputs per dunum.
Real versus Virtual Water
The term virtual water has appeared since coined in 1996 by Allan to address the impact
of the food trade on water resources of water-strained countries like those of the Middle East.
This term is primarily used in the context of foreign trade in food commodities, and it is not
location specific (Allan, 1997; Allan, 1998). What was unique and captivating about this new
premise was that it focused on the trade of water imbedded in goods and commodities. Virtual
water is the amount of water required to produce a given commodity or a service (Allan, 1998;
Wilchens, 2001; Chapagain and Hoekstra, 2003). By other means, virtual water is the amount of
water that is embedded in food or other products needed for their production. This term is usually
used to measure how much water is imported in terms of physical commodities. For example, to
produce one kilogram of wheat we need about 1,000 liters of water, i.e. the virtual water of this
kilogram of wheat is 1,000 liters; whereas the real water is the total gross water requirements
needed to produce a crop in the local conditions. This should include the actual irrigated water
which is the water requirement and the effective rainfall in addition to irrigation system
efficiency. Real water is again defined as the indigenous water that would be needed to produce
the exported commodities to the importing country.
Hoekstra (2003) suggested two branches to the concept to analyze the amount of water that
can be saved if country imports goods instead of producing them domestically, the real virtual
9
water and theoretical virtual water. The first involves the water which is actually used in the
domestic production of goods or services. In turn, the second is the water which would have been
used in the country of destination to which these goods have been produced. Virtual water, either
theoretical or real, can be used in water-scarce countries so that they can use it as a way to relieve
the pressure on water resources, and accordingly considered as an alternative in the demand
management. (Hoekstra and Hung, 2005).
Beaumont (2002) asserts that due to the changing nature of the economies of the Middle
East countries and the rapid population growth, new water policies are required. In fact, these
policies should recognize the growing significance of service sector of each country's economy
and the important role of irrigated agriculture as a main wealth provider. Analysis of the available
water resources indicated that most of the Middle East countries will not be able to meet water
needs of citizens beyond 2025. To avoid the former results, reallocation of some irrigation water
to other uses will be necessary to satisfy household’s demand and to prompt economic growth.
Furthermore, Beaumont (2002) indicated that Jordan will experience major problems
of water supply and will approach the crisis situation. A country with scare-water resources is
still engaged with exporting horticultural crops that requires a large volume of real water. For
example, Abu-Sharar and Battikhi (2002), argued that Jordan's agricultural policy had to focus on
producing crops of the least water consumption especially those intended to export. Wheida and
Verhoeven (2007) concluded that it is more rational to import most of the high water consuming
food and fodder particularly the products which can easily be shipped and stored from countries
with plenty of water from natural and renewable resources
10
Data
The data used in this study were originated from the ‘KAFA’A project; the collected data
were used to assess the comparative crop water use efficiency of irrigation water used in the
Jordan Valley by crop type and zone. Exports and imports data were obtained from the
Department of Statistics for the year 2006. Data for estimating the competitiveness indicator
(DRC) were obtained from the FORWARD Study (2001). However, the prices of inputs (such as
seeds, labor, fertilizer and manure) and outputs (such as crop yields, land areas) were updated
from Ariza-Nino (2004) by using current prices of 2009 for both inputs and outputs. The data
were used to calculate net returns for the selected crops. The prices of inputs and outputs
represent the farm gate prices. For the selected crops produced in Jordan, water content of these
items was calculated by using data of the crop water requirements (m3 ha-1). The crops water
requirements were obtained from Shatanawi et al. (1998). Water content for each crop was
calculated by using DOS data on the average land productivity (ton ha-1), total cultivated area
(ha) and total crop yield (ton).
Results and Discussion
The local agricultural production has not been capable of meeting the increasing growth of
food consumption because of the rapid population growth and the improved standard of living.
The gap between indigenous agricultural production and the demand of food had to be bridged by
imports. Besides, It is evident that Jordan’s food security depends heavily on the food imports; a
fact that impacts its water policy and its trade in addition to the foreign policy. Three crops were
selected: Tomatoes (Plastic House (PH) and Open Field (OP), Cucumbers, and Green (string)
beans. However, the majority of the production is now under plastic houses especially in the
11
Jordan Valley area during winter. The budgets were constructed for these three crops produced in
the northern region of Jordan Valley.
On evaluating and discussing competitiveness in relation to water demand management,
it is worthwhile to consider the water use and profitability of the different farm types. Salman et.
Al., 2001 discussed the quantities of water allocated to each farm type and the corresponding
profitability. The quantity of irrigation water used varies from one farm type to another according
to the prevailing cropping pattern. The specialized plastic house farms are required, with 413 m³
per dunum, considerably lower quantities of water than farms with fruit trees and citrus and the
irrigation water requirement of respectively 1744 and 956 m3 per dunum. Farms that cultivated
bananas and other fruits used an even higher rate of water per dunum. The affordability of this
excessive use of the scarce production factor water was mainly attributed to the low water price
which was at that time up to 0.009 JD/m3 and has risen since then to 0.012 JD/m3.
The profitability and DRC of selected exported crops are shown in Table 2. It indicates
that the least attractive case is the case of tomatoes grown in open filed. The value of 2.62 of
DRC indicates that the value of domestic resources used to produce tomatoes in open field is
greater than the contribution of its value added to social prices. In other words, it has a
comparative disadvantage.
12
Table 2: economic profits of exported crops and DRC using opportunity cost of water in Jordan
Valley by (JD 0.012 m-3)
Item
Revenues (JD/Du) using FOB prices
Cost of Tradable inputs (JD/Du)
Cost of Domestic factors (JD/Du)
Profits (JD/Du)
DRC
Cucumber
4560
1701
938.41
1921
0.33
Tomato
grown in
PH
2730
1725.5
894.84
110
0.89
Tomato
grown in
OF
300
229.36
185.3772
-115
2.62
Green
Beans
2135
1419
311.275
405
0.43
Using the nominal price of water as 0.012 JD/m3 is not rational due to the long-term water
subsidy in the agriculture of the Jordan Valley. The rational is to use the shadow price of water,
where the standard answer given by economists to the question of how best to allocate a natural
resource is that this should be done through the private markets. This is correct if the following
conditions hold: (1) the market for the resource must be competitive with many small buyers and
sellers; (2) all social costs and benefits involved in the use of the resource must be private
benefits, so that they are reflected in the profit-and-loss decisions of decision makers and the
economic choices of consumers; (3) the rate at which future costs and benefits are discounted by
society must also coincide with the private discount rate (Salman et, al,. 2006). As in the case of
Jordan, JVA provides water to farmers at the subsidized prices which implies that the
governments involved consider water in the hands of farmers to have a greater value than the
farmer’s own willingness to pay. Such a view may be due to the loss of agricultural employment,
decrease of farming income, and the spread of poverty which would cause social unrest.
Therefore, not all social costs and benefits associated with water use simply consist of private
costs and benefits. On the cost side, for example, the extraction of water from an aquifer will
lower the level of the water table, increasing the costs of extractions at other wells. Further, the
private water extractors will not consider the possibility their actions together with those of other
private extractors will result in over-pumping. This leads to damage the aquifer for later use and
13
ruin it altogether. Similarly, private water users will not fully take into account the effects of
which their individual use oriented to the environment and to the social investment in the
irrigation systems.
The cost of water is relatively high in Jordan due to its limited availability. Water for
municipal and industrial (M&I) uses is either abstracted from deep bore holes in the highlands or
pumped from the Jordan Valley. The average estimated cost of M&I supplies delivered to the
consumer is the equivalent of JD 0.45 per m3. The average total estimated costs of irrigation
water in the Jordan Valley is up to 0.036 JD/m3 of which about 0.021 JD/m3 is operation and
maintenance (O&M) costs, and the balance is for capital recovery. It is important to note that
such costs do not include the scarcity rent of the water itself – the opportunity cost of not
achieving the benefits that the water would bring in other uses. An efficient system of pricing
would systematically reflect such rents. The opportunity cost of water is reflected by the shadow
price. The shadow prices are the true values of water in different locations. The shadow price of
water at a source in situ is the scarcity rent of water from that source – the amount that the
country or region should be willing to pay to obtain an additional cubic meter of water from that
source. This includes the scarcity rent plus the per-cubic-meter costs of extraction, treatment, and
conveyance to the end-user (Salman et al,. 2006). Without governmental policies, such shadow
prices would be the prices to charge to induce the efficient water flows that maximize the net
benefits from water. This principle can be used to evaluate export and imports and create a new
natural water sources or desalination facilities.
14
By considering the average price of irrigation water of 0.45 JD per m3, the price reflected
the full-cost recovery (investment cost plus operational and maintenance cost). The profitability
and DRC of selected exported crops are shown in Table 3. It indicates that the exporting tomatoes
are not attractive any more for the Jordanian economy. The value which is of above 1 of DRC for
tomatoes indicates that the value of domestic resources used to produce tomatoes is greater than
the contribution of its value added to social prices. In other words, it has a comparative
disadvantage. Cucumber and Green Beans have comparative advantages where DRC is below 1.
Table 3: economic profits of exported crops and DRC using opportunity cost of water in Jordan
Valley by (JD 0.45 m-3)
Tomato
Tomato
grown in
grown in
Green
Item
Cucumber
PH
OF
Beans
Revenues (JD/Du) using FOB prices
Cost of Tradable inputs (JD/Du)
Cost of Domestic factors (JD/Du)
Profits (JD/Du)
DRC
4,560.00
1,701.00
1,219.61
1,639.00
0.43
2730
1725.5
1129.17
-125
1.12
300
229.36
349.41
-279
4.95
2135
1419
545.61
170
0.76
The traditional markets of Jordanian agricultural exports have been restricted by political
rivalries and by competition from other producers. Unless farm income is improved through
better marketing outlets; any increase in the agricultural cost of production will increase the debt
burdens of Jordan Valley farmers. For the purpose of serving the Jordanian farmer, the
government is still looking into the establishment of specialized companies with private sector
participation to expand outlets and improve competitiveness of horticultural products in the
traditional markets and enhancing export to European markets. There is an attempt to improve the
pre and post-harvest handling of fresh products to minimize crops losses due to improper
handling through out the marketing chain, where these losses amount to 35%. Studies at MOA
suggest to established five packing and grading center for fruit and vegetables in Jordan.
15
Assuming that the improvement in the quality of exported horticultural will be implemented in
the future as plan. The prices received in the importing countries will be at least doubled. The
profitability and DRC of selected exported crops indicates that these crops will enjoy a
comparative advantage. The value of DRC indicates that the domestic resources used to produce
tomatoes and other horticultural crops are lower than the contribution of its value added to social
prices. In other words, it has a comparative advantage.
Table 4: economic profits of exported crops and DRC by using the opportunity cost of water in
Jordan Valley by (JD 0.45 m-3) by double of current FOB prices
Item
Revenues (JD/Du) using FOB prices
Cost of Tradable inputs (JD/Du)
Cost of Domestic factors (JD/Du)
Profits (JD/Du)
DRC
Cucumber
Tomato
grown in
PH
Tomato
grown in
OF
Green
Beans
8400
1701
1219.61
5479
0.18
5640
1725.5
1129.17
2785
0.29
2058
229.36
349.41
1479
0.19
4200
1419
545.61
2235
0.2
To quantify the volumes of all water trade flows into and out of Jordan during 2006, a set of
calculations has been undertaken. The basic approach is to calculate the indigenous water flow
outside Jordan that was consumed to produce the exported horticultural commodities. This
depends on the trade figures of quantity and value as reported by the DOS (2007) and on the
water duty and yield per unit area of the planted crop. Exported water was then analyzed to show
the value added from the exports and the share of water in that gross return is assumed equal to
its share in the cost of production. Table 5 shows that Jordan export 56 mcm in a form of
embodied water in tomatoes alone. About 71 mcm of real embodied water were exported in these
three selected crops. Green bean has the highest gross return per cubic meter. By considering the
total export horticultural crops, the results indicate that about 141 mcm of embodied water is
exported. The water consumed in the production of the exported horticultural crops represents
16
22% of total irrigation water use in Jordan during 2006. Water in exported tomatoes products
represents about 40% of total water exported in the form of horticultural commodities. The main
category of agricultural products exported is vegetables, and the water consumed in their
production represents 63% of exported water.
Table (5): Economical Value of Export and Embodied water exported embodied water in selected
crops
Export:
Embodied
CWR with
Gross
Real
Total
Value in
water
an WUE of
Return
embodied
Exports in
MJD.
Exported
60%
JD/cm
Water
2006 tones
mcm
(CM/du)
(m3/kg)
Cucumber
55,615
21.44
13.46
488
1.59
0.050
Tomato
304,529
72.54
56.03
765
1.29
0.175
Green Beans
7,497
4.61
1.3
385
3.55
0.252
Total
367,641
98.59
70.79
98.59
Conclusions
The total horticultural exports amounted to 735 thousand tons in 2007 of which 695
thousand tons are vegetables, and 40 thousand tons are fruits. This requires a bout 426 million
cubic meter of water which represents about 47% of the total water demand of Jordan or 70% of
the agricultural demand for the irrigation water. The total value of exported water if evaluated at
the opportunity cost of water of JD 0.45 per cubic meter will be 191 million JD. As practiced in
major cities in Jordan, the e fresh water is sold by private vendors through tankers especially
during summer with an average price of 1.75 JD per cubic meter. Using this price as an
opportunity cost of water, the total value of exported water would be around 746 million JD. The
most recent data published by DOS (2007) indicate that the total value of exported vegetables and
fruits amounted to 288 million JD. This means that the gross return per cubic meter of exported
water in the form of horticultural product is only 0.63 JD . It is worthwhile to mention that the
quality of water used in agriculture is not of the quality of municipal or industrial purposes.
17
However, the total value of Non-Agricultural exports amounted to JD 2,891 million in 2007. In
other words, the gross return per cubic meter of exported water in non-agricultural exports
amounted to 5.9 JD/CM. This shows the very low contribution of water used in the horticultural
exports.
Recommendations
Government’s attempts to deal with the scarcity problem focused not only on supply
management including rationing of water service, but also on demand management measures and
the adoption of a public information policy. Non-government organizations (NGOs) were also
mobilized in the informational campaign which is an attempt to increase public awareness and
participation. Despite all measures, the coming scarcity problem will remain a major challenge
facing water managers and the country at large. It is imperative to improve the quality of
Jordanian horticultural exports to obtain the highest possible prices in high-end markets to
increase competitiveness and to reconsider the current production pattern through focusing on
high value crops that require lower water requirements. Improving “on-farm” water use
efficiency could be one approach of demand side management to save more of the lost water.
Therefore, irrigation water pricing should be promoted in the hope that they will encourage more
efficient water use. In which farmers take the opportunity cost of water into their account when
allocating water among water consuming activities and determining future cropping pattern. The
opportunity cost of water should be combined with crop-embedded water and the expected net
return from unit volume of irrigation water. Therefore, a new water allocation mechanism need to
be developed for more efficient water use than the commonly practiced of farm quota and
irrigation water rights. Therefore, cost recovery and real water pricing system can be used as one
18
of the most important measures for demand management to reach an efficient, sustainable, and
socially acceptable use of scarce water resources. On the other hand, water pricing touches on
equity and the willingness of the farmers to pay (including the farmer’s ability to pay). As such,
it becomes a politically-sensitive issue, and government will not hand this matter to the private
firms. Long-time subsidization distorts farmers’ perception of water as a scarce and thus valuable
resource. Low water prices are thus likely to engender excessive use and water waste and thus
worsen a situation an already tenuous situation. The most effective instrument to break this
vicious cycle is to allow for water prices that recover the cost of water supply and thus to obtain
financial sustainability. With respect to Jordan, optimization of the limited water resources can be
envisaged by exporting horticultural crops of the least water consumption with competitive
advantages based on contract farming to ensure that water allocation and cropping pattern
respond to water scarcity and market environment. Jordan has to implement policies that reduced
or even abandoned the export and the production of water-intensive crops. Therefore, they have
to be replaced with either imports or crops that optimize the water resources.
References
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‫تنافسية الصادرات الزراعية االردنية من وجهة نظر مائية‪ :‬تحليل لمنتجات‬
‫مختارة في وادي األردن‬
‫د‪.‬عماد الكرابلية وعامر جبارين‬
‫استاذ مشارك‬
‫قسم االقتصاد الزراعي وإدارة األعمال الزراعية‬
‫كلية الزراعة‪ -‬الجامعة االردنية‬
‫الملخص‬
‫ويهدف هذا البحث الى تحليل العالقات بين العملية االنتاجيةة والتبةادل التجةار مةن وجهةة ن ةر‬
‫مةةةوارد الميةةةا التةةةي تسةةةت دم العمليةةةة االنتاجيةةةة‪ .‬ولتحقيةةةذ هةةةذا الهةةةدف تةةةم تقةةةدير كميةةةة الميةةةا‬
‫االفتراضية المست دمة فةي انتةا مجموعةة م تةارة مةن المحاصةيل التصةديرية والتةي يتوقة ان‬
‫لةةديها قةةدرة علةةى المنافسةةة والتصةةدير وتتميةةز بان فةةا االسةةتهالك المةائي‪.‬ولقةةد تبةةين مةةن نتةةائ‬
‫التحليل ان المحاصيل المصدرة ال تتناق فقط م فقط ن رية الميزة النسبية ولكن أيضا منطذ‬
‫استدامة الموارد‪ .‬ويستمد هذا االستنتا من أنه يتم تصدير كميات كبيرة مةن الميةا المدمجةة فةي‬
‫محصول البندورة ذا الربحية المتدنية بالنسبة للمنتجين الزراعيين ولكن يحقذ سةارة اقتصةادية‬
‫من من ور اقتصاد اجتماعي كما هو مبين في معامل الموارد المحلية‪ .‬ولقد تبين أن اال تالف‬
‫الكبيةةر بةةين الربحيةةة الماليةةة واالقتصةةادية سةةببة الةةدعم الةةذ يقةةدم لميةةاة الةةر فةةي واد األردن‪.‬‬
‫وتؤكد النتائ أن األردن تست دم كميات كبيةرة مةن الميةا فةي صةادراتها الزراعيةة‪ ،‬وانةة ال يةتم‬
‫تصةةدير المحاصةةيل ذات االحتياجةةات المائيةةة المن فضةةة والعاليةةة الربحيةةة‪ .‬وأن هنةةاك أمكانيةةة‬
‫لتةةةوفير كميةةةات كبيةةةرة مةةةن الميةةةاة مةةةن ةةةالل تعةةةديل االنمةةةاط والصةةةادرات الزراعيةةةة وتعةةةديل‬
‫است دامات المياة من أجل توفير المياة وضمان االستدامة للموارد البيئية‪ .‬ويقترح تنفيذ سياسات‬
‫من شانها ت في او الحد من تصدير المحاصيل التي تستهلك كميات كبيرة من المياة‬
‫كلمات مفتاحية ‪ :‬التنافسية‪ ،‬معامل الموارد المحلية‪ ،‬المياة االفتراضية‪ ،‬المحاصيل البستانية‬
‫‪22‬‬