Facilitating Smallholder Farmers’ Market Access
In the OIC Member Countries
110
Markets
shows the changing composition of trade in Jordan. Imports have shifted to feed
grains to support domestic poultry and livestock production, while wheat imports have
held steady. Exports have shifted to high-value horticultural goods and prepared food
items. These changes are a key part of the structural reallocation that has resulted in a
smaller sector with higher average incomes.
TABLE 21: JORDAN’S TOP IMPORTS AND EXPORTS BY VALUE (US$ 2005 MILLION)
Imports
Average
(2009–11)
Average
(1989–91)
Exports
Average
(2009–11))
Average
(1989–91)
Sugar, refined 155,583 77,335 Tomatoes 189,042 38,725
Maize 153,360 69,545 Cucumbers and gherkins 83,825 7,513
Food prep nes 140,978 18,674 Food prep nes 67,530 4,276
Cake, soybeans 112,653 25,400 Peaches and nectarines 45,325 16
Wheat 111,612 103,075 Eggplants 34,821 4,443
Meat, cattle 97,774 1,685 Beverages, non alcoholic 31,707 3,593
Meat, sheep 81,909 24,461 Chillies and peppers 29,397 3,155
Cheese (cow) 78,361 11,582 Meat, chicken 27,994 445
Meat, chicken 62,858 31,316 Cigarettes 27,728 5,471
Milk, skimmed dried 59,237 17 Meat, beef, preparations 27,012 308
Beverages 58,318 52 Meat, cattle 24,082 n/a
Tobacco products nes 47,171 504 Meat, sheep 20,715 416*
Source: Authors’ calculations, based on FAOSTAT (FAO 2014) and World Development Indicators (World Bank
2014h).
Despite these advantageous
developments, Jordan still faces
challenges in linking its farmers
to markets. The share of the
population living in rural areas
is shrinking, yet the most recent
data suggest that farms remain
small. In 1997, Jordan had few
farms larger than 2 hectares
. The trend to that
point was for farms to grow
smaller rather than larger
. Given the shrinking
share of the population living in rural areas, a consolidation of farms might be expected.
However, in absolute terms rural populations have grown. For example, the rural
population in Jordan in 2012 was more than 23 percent larger than in 1980. During the
same period, overall population density increased from about 25 to more than 71 people
per square kilometer of land.
FIGURE 67: FARM SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN JORDAN, 1997
Source: Lowder, Skoet, and Singh 2014.