FAO/GIEWS - Foodcrops & Shortages 06/99 - JORDAN (5 June)
An FAO/WFP Crop and Food Supply Assessment Mission from 28 April to 15 May, found that the severest drought in decades decimated cereal crops and sharply reduced output of horticultural produce. The livestock sector was similarly affected and many sheep farms face financial ruin as costs soar and products diminish in quality and quantity. An outbreak of foot and mouth disease has exacerbated drought- induced production losses and further outbreaks of diseases are anticipated.
The unprecedented drought could not have come at a worse time as the country’s capacity to increase imports is seriously constrained with high unemployment, reduced exports, a fall in foreign currency reserves and unsustainable debt repayment rate of US$850 million per annum.
The Mission forecast the lowest recorded domestic cereal harvest at 13 000 tonnes in 1999. At this level, only about 0.6 percent of the domestic consumption needs, instead of the normal 10 percent, will be met. The Mission estimated a total cereal import requirement of 1.94 million tonnes, comprising 742 000 tonnes of wheat, 725 000 tonnes of barley, 370 000 tonnes of maize and 99 000 tonnes of rice for the 1999/2000 marketing year (July/June). About 80 percent of the requirement is anticipated to be covered commercially, leaving a deficit of 387 000 tonnes to be covered by emergency and programme food aid, of which 100 000 tonnes are already pledged. Of particular concern are some 180 000 small scale herders and landless rural households, who need an estimated 14 400 tonnes of wheat and 1 300 tonnes of pulses in emergency food assistance for eight months. Emergency support to the agricultural sector is also urgently needed to revive production for next year.
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