Madaba, July 1 (Petra) -- Madaba Governorate is recording a strong wheat and barley harvest this year following one of the most abundant rainy seasons in decades, with the plains of Madaba and Dhiban once again blanketed by grain crops after years of below-average production.

Director of Agriculture in Madaba Eng. Bassam Abu Al-Ghanam said the favorable rainfall encouraged farmers to expand cultivation, with around 25,000 dunums planted with wheat and 65,000 dunums planted with barley.

He told the Jordan News Agency (Petra) that wheat yields are averaging between 350 and 450 kilograms per dunum, while barley yields range between 350 and 400 kilograms per dunum.

Abu Al-Ghanam noted that the Ministry of Agriculture had previously announced preferential procurement prices for wheat and barley to support farmers in marketing their produce while reinforcing Jordan's strategic reserves of the two key crops.

He added that the Madaba Directorate of Agriculture has issued 142 certificates of origin for wheat and barley growers in Madaba and Dhiban, enabling the government to purchase their harvests at preferential prices before they are delivered to the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply's grain silos.

//Petra// RZ