APN | Northern Jordan Valley – Jordan
14 August 2025
Bringing together 74 farmers — men and women — from across the Jordan Valley, APN hosted a consultative session organised in coordination with the Northern Jordan Valley Agriculture Directorate, hosted at the Sharhabil bin Hassneh Municipality building in the village of Al-Karameh. Through our session, we sought to deepen our understanding of the challenges small farmers are facing in Jordan, ensuring APN’s future work is grounded in grassroots needs, experiences and aspirations.
In her opening remarks, APN Chairperson Razan Zuayter underscored the essential role of small-scale and family farmers in realising food sovereignty. She stressed that food security alone is not enough if communities lack the ability to produce their own food and determine what they grow. “Those who farm to feed their families, communities, and country are no less important than large-scale, export-oriented producers,” she said. “In fact, they are the backbone of food security and stability around the world”.
Zuayter also shared highlights from APN’s work in Jordan, including the planting of 250,000 fruit trees, rehabilitation of 88 agricultural ponds, distribution of 12,000 tons of vegetable seeds, installation of 1,400 irrigation networks, and the provision of 121 beehives—supporting more than 11,500 farming families. She noted that APN’s impact extends beyond Jordan, with ongoing initiatives in Palestine and Lebanon under the slogan: “They uproot one tree, we plant ten”. Amid the advancing genocidal war, starvation, and blockade in Gaza, APN supported 600 farmers to bring over six million kilograms of vegetables to local markets.
The session followed a series of field visits and in-depth interviews with farmers across the Jordan Valley, aiming to capture their experiences throughout the agricultural cycle. A follow-up roundtable with stakeholders from both the public and private sectors is scheduled for 24 August 2025, providing an opportunity to build on the findings and explore collaborative solutions.
