Socio-economics of water allocation in Jordan (Briefing 3.1)

Abstract

We developed a model framework for assessing the impact of changing economic and political conditions on agriculture and the potential agricultural development and how these changes may alter the conditions governing the life and work of farmers. Our most significant findings are that agriculture will gain from potential economic growth whereas regional political developments are less relevant and that independent of the social and political development the prize of cultivated land and agriculturally used water will increase resulting in an increased gross margin of crops. Additionally we were able to show that water scarcity will be eased by increasing use of treated wastewater as a result of demographic growth and that rising temperatures will enable the production of high-value crops earlier in the year.