This report provides evidence for improving irrigation efficiency in Jordan. We examine on-farm irrigation practices and water management, barriers and challenges to repairing and maintaining irrigation infrastructure, and farmers’ beliefs about the linkages between groundwater depletion and agriculture. Based on this evidence, we identify farmer and farm characteristics as entry points for effecting changes.
Our results suggested that farmers in Jordan face challenges in repairing and maintaining their irrigation equipment, and in accessing professional advice on irrigation. As such, developing value chains and linking farmers to markets will help to increase irrigation efficiency. However, these investments are not likely to have adequate impacts on Jordan’s groundwater problems unless the challenges for increasing irrigation efficiency on the demand-side are addressed. This means changing the practices of over-irrigation and sensitizing owners and managers to the role that agriculture has had on groundwater depletion in Jordan.