Sky Journal of Agricultural Research Vol. 2(6), pp. xx - xx, July, 2013 Available online http://www.skyjournals.org/SJAR ISSN 2315-8751 ©2013 Sky Journals Full Length Research Paper Farmers’ willingness to pay for treated wastewater in the Jordan valley A. Alfarra 1 *, B. G. J. S. Sonneveld 2 , H. Hoetzl 1 1 Karlsruhe Institute for Technology, Germany. 2 Centre for World Food Studies of the VU University Amsterdam, Netherland. Accepted 29 June, 2013 This study investigates the potential use of treated wastewater (TWW), blended with fresh water, for irrigated agriculture in the Jordan Valley (JV). A random sample of 401 farmers was asked if they would accept TWW, their willingness to pay (WTP) and the reasons behind these decisions. Almost all the farmers accept TWW and more than 55 % of the farmers are willing to pay more than five times of the price of freshwater. An ordered logit model for the entire sample shows that higher farm profits increases the bids while concern about water tariff is the second highest factor that influences farmers’ decision. Yet, overall model results were weak and separate models for the Northern, Middle and Southern region of the JV have a larger predictive power and present better hit ratios. The results indicate that it is recommended to implement site specific pricing and extension programs when the use of TWW is introduced or further expanded in the JV. Key words: Treated, wastewater, valley, Jordan. INTRODUCTION Water scarcity is a serious constraint for the economic and social development of the Hashemite kingdom of Jordan. Identified as one of the higher water stress countries (UNEP 1999), the kingdom witnessed the last few decades an increasing pressure on its water resources (Al-Amoush. et al, 2010). This strain is most visible in the severe competition between the agricultural sector, which consumes 65% of the freshwater resources (JVA 2006; JVA 2007; AQUASTAT - FAO 2008) and an increasingly affluent population of around 6 million people, who demands their guaranteed supply of clean water for domestic use. In the near future this situation is likely to exacerbate as a mounting population continues to grow (2.6%) to a 10 million people in 2050. Moreover, climate change is expected to affect the country negatively as temperature increases while precipitation becomes more erratic and reduces on average by 30% (JVA 2007; Bates et al. 2008). Indeed, following a Malthus vision, the created scarcity will wreak havoc on the society and create a political instable situation with people fighting over access to a few remaining water resources. Inter basin transfers might in the future *Corresponding author. E-mail: Amani.alfarra@gmail.com . provide the necessary relief, yet, the political tense situation in the region impedes a constructive solution in this direction. After all, water infrastructure is a vulnerable target for sabotage and pipelines are easy to close down. Hence, the solution should be found at the national level and the Jordanian government faces an enormous challenge to curb the risks of the above mentioned doom scenario. Yet, solutions are not easily available. Venotand Molle (2008) argue that substantial increases in volumetric charges will not result in major water savings but, instead, further decreases the income from low-value or extensive crops. A shift towards high value crops would raise water productivity but would also entail a transfer of wealth to the government and to wealthier entrepreneurs. Carr et al. (2011) indicate that reuse of treated wastewater for irrigation is a valuable strategy to maximize available water resources, but they also point to the often marginal quality of the water that can present other agricultural challenges. Indeed farmers‘ perception of reclaimed water may be a function of its quality, but consideration should also be given to the farmers‘ capacity to manage the agricultural challenges that are associated with reclaimed water (salinity, irrigation system damage, marketing of produce) as well as their actual and perceived capacity to control where and when