March 20, 2021
Maram Zaid - Irrigation and Agriculture Department Manager at Methods for Irrigation And Agriculture (MIRRA)
Jordan faces several challenges related to water and food security. In particular, Jordan’s water sector is characterized by severe water scarcity due to increasing demand caused by a rapidly growing population alongside several influxes of refugees, climate change, and inefficient water use. According to the National Water Strategy (2016), Jordan’s annual renewable water resources reached 100 m3/capita, which is far below the global threshold of 500 m3/ capita[1]. Moreover, Jordan imports more than 90% of its natural oil and gas in order to produce energy for different purposes[2]. This is important as water, energy and food issues are interdependent, both within Jordan and internationally. Water supply in Jordan consumes up to 15% of all electrical energy and 20% of total energy produced, mostly for pumps used to convey water[3] [4].
The agriculture sector is the largest consumer of water using more than 50% of the available water resources. With population increases and the impact of climate change, the use of water for irrigation is expected to increase in the near future in order to meet demand for food production. Additionally, the expected rise in the availability of non‐conventional water sources such as treated wastewater, harvested rainwater, and desalinated seawater will further increase water use for irrigation.
Methods for Irrigation and Agriculture (MIRRA) is a Jordanian non-governmental organization (NGO) established in 2007. MIRRA’s mission is to work toward the implementation of sustainable development initiatives in Jordan by addressing the challenges facing the water, agricultural, and environmental sectors in order to contribute to water conservation, environmental sustainability, and social and economic prosperity.
Our organization’s initiatives aim to have a direct impact in achieving United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 – Access to water and sanitation for all; SDG 13 – Urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts; and SDG 17 – Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development. MIRRA also takes into great consideration the following SDGs through its projects and intervention implementation: SDG 4 – Quality education; SDG 5 – Gender equality; and SDG 7 – Affordable and clean energy.
Within Jordan, MIRRA contributes to specific Jordanian policies and standards, positively affecting the overall sustainable development of the country. These include the National Water Strategy (2016-2025), Jordan’s National Vision and Strategy 2025, various Ministries’ plans (Ministry of Water and Irrigation, the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Education), the Jordan Economic Growth Plan 2018-2022, and Jordanian National Standards for wastewater reuse.
MIRRA’s initiatives throughout the period of 2013-2020 have addressed key topics within the National Water Strategy, such as wastewater treatment and reuse, Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services, water management for irrigated agriculture, for climate change adaptation, and for energy cost optimization, developing water sector capacities, and building partnerships for the water sector and the water-food-energy nexus.
In 2013, MIRRA implemented the “Safe & Efficient Reuse of Treated Wastewater of the Jordanian Pilot Project Decentralized Wastewater Treatment Plant at the Public Security Directorate”, which had a duration of 24 months. This project resulted in groundwater savings of 19,000 m³/ year, and operational financial savings of 66,000 JOD/year.
In 2016, MIRRA carried out a 36-month project, “Ultra-Low Energy Drip Irrigation for MENA Countries”. The main objective of the project was to test and field validate newly designed pressure-compensating drip emitters with an activation pressure of 0.15 Bar. The innovative and low-energy irrigation system is designed to cut pumping energy and enable drip systems to run on low-pressure water supplies, as well as facilitate the dissemination of low-cost, solar powered drip irrigation solutions. The project results demonstrated that the ultra-low-pressure drip emitters could save 43% of hydraulic energy on the farm level per unit volume of water, which will likely enhance the adoption of the drip irrigation method, thus reducing water consumption. The technology will also reduce energy requirements of drip irrigation systems by almost 50 percent, thus reducing the energy demand for the agriculture sector. Furthermore, reducing energy requirements of drip irrigation systems by 50 percent will have a major effect on farmers who are currently using diesel pumps, possibly cutting their fuel bill by half.
In 2018, MIRRA implemented the project, “Decentralized Wastewater Treatment and Reuse in Institutions: Mafraq Pilot in 3 Schools”, which lasted a total of 12 months. In this project, two decentralized wastewater treatment plants, greywater treatment systems, solar panels, and a low-energy drip irrigation system were installed. As a result of these efforts, approximately 1,000 m3 of water were saved per year and approximately 15,000 Jordan Dinars (the total annual value of electricity bills for the 3 schools) per year were saved. Moreover, 265 new trees were planted and irrigated with the treated wastewater.
In 2019, MIRRA designed and implemented the 18-month project, “Realizing Sustainable Agriculture and Efficient Water Management in the Azraq Basin in Jordan through the Adaptation and Integration of Proven Technology and Community Partnership”. The results of the project showed that using drip irrigation instead of surface irrigation can save more than 35% of on-farm water resources.
Also occurring in 2019, MIRRA initiated the project, “Future DAMS: Future Design and Assessment of Water – Energy – Food – Environment Mega Systems”, which lasted a total of 18 months. The project aimed to deepen the understanding of how interventions within nexus systems cascade through socioeconomic, scientifically engineered, ecological, and political systems. These nexus systems include new dams, systems of dams, and their operation. Moreover, this project helped to enhance the technical and institutional capacity of partner and non-partner researchers, stakeholders, and policymakers in order to ensure that dam decision-making leads to economically, socially, and environmentally desirable outcomes. It also aimed to improve cooperation and development in order to help avoid conflicts between countries sharing the same river basin (transboundary).
MIRRA’s focus on the above issues is effectively, efficiently, and sustainably contributing to making Jordan a leading country in achieving the SDGs, while maintaining social, economic, and environmental wellbeing for all of its inhabitants. MIRRA’s broad range of work and expertise cover not only the water and agricultural sectors in Jordan, but also cascade through the country’s economic stability and social livelihoods through the improvement of water use efficiencies, agricultural production, education, capacity building of communities, and cooperation between sectors.
In 2020, MIRRA signed onto new project agreements in order to implement several projects related to wastewater treatment, improving the performance of greenhouses, enhancing capacities of youth, and quality assurance of the design, operation, and maintenance of irrigation systems.
Beside the research and development projects in which MIRRA conducts, it also provides career development training to young professionals, and entry level engineers. From last year till now, MIRRA conducted career development training to more than 25 young professionals on different topics, innovation and food production, irrigation systems design and management, and sustainable agriculture.
MIRRA recently completed a capacity building program for fifteen female engineers seeking employment in the fields of agricultural and environmental engineering. The program started in October 2020 and ended in December 2020 (30 days, 130 hours), and led to the employment of 40% of the trainees. The beneficiaries were female engineers ranging from 22 to 32 years of age. The trainees had different backgrounds in the fields of agricultural engineering, water engineering, and environmental engineering from various academic institutes, including Hashemite University, Jordan University, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Al-Balqa Applied University, and German Jordanian University.
Moreover, MIRRA has now 8 full time Jordanian employees and 3 part time Jordanian employees. Therefore, supporting and promoting the NGOs in Jordan will contribute to reducing the unemployability in Jordan.
MIRRA is interested in sharing its achievements and lessons learned with others in the MENA region and beyond, whose mission is to sustainably develop the irrigation, water, agriculture and environment sectors in order to achieve social, economic, and environmental prosperity for all.
To know more about Methods for Irrigation And Agriculture (MIRRA)'s work visit this link.
Sources:
[1] Ministry of Water and Irrigation (MWI) (2016) National Water Strategy (2016- 2025). MWI, Amman, Jordan
[2] Renewable Energy Solutions for the Mediterranean RES4MED (2019) Scaling-up renewable energy development in Jordan. Available at: http://www.res4med.org/wpcontent/uploads/2019/03/Scaling-Up-Renewable-Energy-Development-in-Jordan.pdf
[3] Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR). Annual Report [in Arabic]. Jordan; 2016.
[4] Al-Masri, R.A., Chenoweth, J, and Murphy, R.J. (2019). “Exploring the Status Quo of Water-Energy Nexus Policies and Governance in Jordan.” Environmental Science & Policy. 100:192–204.
