ZOOMING IN ON...JORDAN
SAUDI ARABIA
JORDAN
Size
e Ma’an
97 740 km? (37 736 square miles)
Location Jordan is in the Middle East, bordered by Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iraq and Israel. The land on the West Bank of the river Jordan is occupied by Israel. The Dead Sea depression, 400 m below sea level is the lowest point on earth. The east of the country is mainly desert, but a high plateau extends from the northern border with Syria towards the south. The capital of Jordan, Amman is at 800 m.
TURKEY
CYPRUS Mediterranean Sea
Population 3
942 000. It is estimated that 1000 families
practise beekeeping. GNP $2165 per capita. Agriculture accounts for 8% of the GNP.
Main agriculture
The loss of the West Bank after the 1967 Middle East War deprived Jordan of 80% of its fruit-growing area. Citrus, other fruit, vegetables, olive oil and wheat are the main crops in the remaining East Bank. Honey bees Apis mellifera syriaca is the native honey bee. Italian queens are imported.
Beekeeping 1987 figures: 49 000 hives (41 000 traditional, 8000 frame hives). Most beekeeping is in the Irbid and Amman districts.
Hives Traditional beekeeping is practised in hollow clay cylinders made from mud and straw known as ‘baladi’, approximately m x 0.3 m and usually cemented together in groups of 50 or so. Another type of traditional hive is made from woven bamboo. |
Reu Sea
Equipment Most equipment for frame hive beekeeping is imported from Syria or Europe.
Projects GTZ project on beekeeping (1990, 1991) In June 1990 Queen Noor Al Hussein laid the foundation stone of a building for a bee breeding and honey production project. The project is carried out by the Noor Al Hussein Foundation.
Further reading ROBINSON, W S (1981) Beekeeping in Jordan. Bee World 62: 91-97.
MILEA. O. {1987} Beekeeping in the Hashemite Kingdom of
Jordan. XXXI Apimondia Proceedings (1987) 509-512.
Beekeeping association Jordanian Beekeepers’ Association, PO Box 776, Al-Jubeihah, Amman Honey bee diseases American foulbrood, European foulbrood, sacbrood, Braula sp., Nosema apis, Varroa jacobsoni
Honey bee pests Vespa orientalis, Galleria mellonella. There is no
regulation of pesticide use in Jordan, and poisoning of bees by pesticides remains a very serious problem for beekeepers.
Melliferous vegetation Citrus spp, Echinops spp, Thymus vulgaris. The wild flora is rich and varied, and provides an important source of dark-coloured, sweet
honey.
Honey yield per colony frame hives, average yields are around 4 kg per colony per year, but can be up to 20 kg. A typical yield from a traditional hive is 2 kg per colony per year. In
With thanks
to
Salma Zabaneh for her assistance with
this item
u"
Total honey yield 120 tonnes (1988)
Honey imported 491 tonnes (1990)
Beekeeping department Animal Production and Health Department, Ministry of Agriculture, PO Box 2395, Amman.
Jordanians enjoying honey
SAUDI ARABIA
Honey for sale
