Jordan is suffering from a chronic water scarcity caused by rapid population growth, frequent droughts and hydro political tensions in the Middle East. The per capita share from renewable water resources is less than 100 (m3/capita/year), which makes Jordan the second water-poorest country in the world (MWI, 2018). 

MENAWARA action focuses on Ar-Ramtha area, situated in the far northwest of Jordan and, in particular, at National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC)’s Station for treated wastewater research. NARC started its mandate in 2000 to conduct research related to the quality, use, enhancement and environmental impact of treated wastewater in irrigated agriculture, accounting for the social and economic dimensions, in addition to providing awareness and extension services.

Water coming out from Ar-Ramtha’s WWTP has satisfied the Jordanian Standards (JS 893/2006) and it is fully used for direct irrigation: the agricultural land irrigated with the treated wastewater is about 75 ha located around the treatment plant cultivated with fodder crops such as alfalfa (70%), barley rye grass in winter and maize in summer (30%).

The most dominant irrigation system when using TWW in Ar-Ramtha is surface irrigation (more than 90%) while drip irrigation is used for the remaining 10%. These two techniques are the only ones allowed in Jordan for TWW. Surface irrigation efficiency is less than 60% due to bad distribution while drip irrigation efficiency is less than 70% due to clogging of emitters. Farmers are looking to use sprinkler or subsurface irrigation to facilitate land and crop management and increase efficiency so that they may expand the cultivated area. 

👉The aim of the project is to improve  the performance of the Ar-Ramtha's WWTP and the wastewater treatment processes while testing, in a real living lab,  the efficiency of different farm irrigation systems, mainly innovative sprinklers and subsurface drip irrigation on crops and soils while enhancing farmers’ skills, facilitating irrigation system adaptation and endorsing the change of the national regulation, which allows only surface and drip irrigation.