Amman, March 24 (Petra) -- The Ministry of Agriculture on Tuesday issued a set of preventive guidelines to address the risks of flash floods and rainwater accumulation, aiming to raise farmers’ awareness and enhance measures to protect farms and agricultural assets as part of efforts to reduce the impact of weather conditions.

The guidelines come as the kingdom is affected by a cold and moist air mass associated with a weather depression, expected to begin impacting the country on Wednesday and peak on Thursday, according to the Jordan Meteorological Department.

Assistant Secretary-General for Plant Wealth at the ministry, Ayman Al-Aouran, told Petra that the guidelines aim to provide farmers with practical advice for dealing with weather fluctuations. He stressed the need to move agricultural equipment, livestock, and beehives away from flood paths and valleys, inspect irrigation systems, protect energy sources, and place engines and pumps in insulated and protected locations.

He emphasized tightly securing greenhouses in the afternoon to preserve internal heat, reviewing ventilation, heating, irrigation, and energy systems to ensure readiness and provide alternatives, and adjusting irrigation, fertilization, and lighting schedules according to weather conditions. This includes irrigating after midnight to reduce frost risk and using calcium- and sulfate-enriched fertilizers to improve plants’ tolerance to cold.

He called for securing objects that could be blown away or fall in surrounding areas to prevent damage to plastic greenhouses during storms and for inspecting retaining walls, service roads, and drainage channels, ensuring they are cleared to avoid blockages in narrow passages between greenhouses and access routes.

He also stressed checking plastic coverings to ensure they are tightly sealed, replacing damaged sheets, and using weights or sandbags to secure covers to prevent water leakage into greenhouses and damage to crops.

Al-Aouran urged farmers to inspect water collection ponds and tanks to ensure they do not overflow during heavy rainfall, which could damage nearby property or cause erosion in greenhouse flooring and surrounding areas, as well as to regularly check surface drainage systems.

He highlighted the importance of securing livestock shelters against wind and rain, providing plastic covers when necessary, ensuring dry and warm conditions, using straw to absorb moisture and warm the ground, and keeping newborn animals in enclosed, dry areas away from drafts.

He also called for maintaining and cleaning barns to facilitate rainwater drainage, providing adequate heating with proper ventilation, and reinforcing structures to withstand wind and rain.

Regarding beekeeping, Al-Aouran stressed the importance of tightly sealing hive covers, narrowing entrances to about 2–3 cm, warming hives by clustering colonies or surrounding them with straw bales, and avoiding opening hives during strong winds or rain except when necessary and on sunny days. He also advised merging weak colonies, ensuring sufficient sugar feeding before and after weather depressions, relocating hives away from flood paths, and clearing surrounding vegetation.

//Petra// AF