DEIR ALLA -- Although it was only 10 years ago when Samih Salman became a farmer, he managed over this relatively short period to become one of the Jordanian farmers who export their produce to Europe.
Salman, who holds a vocational diploma, chose farming over his field of study out of his love for farm work.
"The nature of the area I live in encourages farming, and I started working in this field without experience, while harvesting traditional crops like tomatoes," the Deir Alla resident told The Jordan Times.
To gain more experience in farming, the 40-year-old sought opportunities to learn more about best practices in the field.
It was in 2004, almost one year after Salman had rented a farm in his area, when he was invited to take part in the Farmers Field Schools (FFS), which seek to engage farmers in discussions with experts about the problems they face in agriculture.
The FFS is part of the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation's (FAO) regional Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programme, launched in some countries of the region in 2004 and still running this year.
By joining the FFS, farmers are able to know more about how to deal with problems they face on their farms, exchange experiences and learn how to improve the quality of their crops.
"Participating in [the FFS] gives us extra advantages in dealing with exporters as well," said Salman.
Experts at the FFS also helped him and other farmers improve their products and introduce new crops to the area to prepare them for exporting to European markets, he said.
"We are doing this now and exporting our produce to France," Salman noted, adding that producing fruits and vegetables that meet European standards is not easy, but with the help of the experts at FFS, "we have managed to do that".
Salman described the experience as "good", noting that he never had thought that one day his crops would be sold outside Jordan.
According to Ashraf Hawmdeh, IPM coordinator, in addition to Jordan, the project, which is funded by the Italian government, is also implemented in Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Syria and Tunisia.
Since its implementation in Jordan and until this year, more than 200 Farmer Field Schools were established and more than 3,000 farmers (20 per cent female) were trained.
Other farmers interviewed by The Jordan Times also said they gained more knowledge about the pests and insects and which kinds are good or harmful through this project.
Ziad Hawarat, another farmer from Deir Alla, said after participating in the project and joining other farmers as part of the schools, he can distinguish between beneficial insects and harmful ones, and knows what kind of pesticides to use.
"Before, we used to get rid of insects that are good for the crops because we didn't know about their benefits," Hawarat said, adding that he also exports his products to Europe and was currently planting okra for export to France.
He said he used to plant tomatoes, but faced problems in selling the produce in the local market because it is almost saturated with this product.
Andrea Berloffa, emergency coordinator and liaison officer at FAO Jordan, said the IPM project seeks to have sustainable agriculture in the target countries.
He noted that the project also tackles farmers' knowledge of their work.
"It is kind of a system to improve knowledge... That is what is really important about it," Berloffa added.
He said farmers are becoming experts, which is one of the project's goals, an issue that is important for agriculture, in which farmers are responsible for farm management.
Talal Fayez, administrative assistant at FAO Jordan, said the project was meant only to last for four years, but was later extended because of its positive impact.
"The project was extended because it proved its success, and this is the last year for implementation," Fayez said, adding that the project is implemented in cooperation with the National Centre for Agricultural Research and Extension.
© Jordan Times 2013
