ELZUBI to Al-Rai: The Burden of Fires
Dr. Fadel ELZUBI, expert in food security and agricultural policy, affirmed that the recurring wheat fires each summer raise an issue that goes beyond seasonal loss to touch upon the future of agriculture in Jordan.
Speaking to Al-Rai, he described the scene that has become familiar: golden fields turning into dense blackness, and ears of wheat once promising a plentiful harvest reduced to ashes scattered by the wind. This year, he noted, the situation intensified with the early arrival of heatwaves and worsening drought, leading to fires across multiple agricultural sites in the Kingdom and wiping out the farmers’ year-long investment of effort, time, and money.
ELZUBI stressed the need to distinguish carefully between two overlapping but distinct measures: the national scale of food security, and the individual scale of farmer survival. At the national level, he explained, the danger remains limited in terms of supply and demand. Jordan produces between 20,000 and 60,000 tons of wheat annually, while consumption exceeds one million tons. Imports therefore cover the bulk of national needs. With a strategic reserve sufficient for ten months, according to official sources, and diversified import channels, bread security remains insulated from immediate shortages caused by this season’s fires.
On the farmer’s scale, however, the picture is starkly different. A farmer whose field burns does not lose part of his crop—he loses everything: his savings invested throughout the year, his ability to meet financial obligations, and much of his confidence in the future.
ELZUBI outlined three broad categories of causes behind wheat fires. The first is climatic: unprecedented early heat combined with dry vegetation around fields turns ears and residues into ready fuel ignited by the smallest spark. The second is unintentional human activity, the most widespread and varied—sparks from harvesting machinery striking stones, random burning of residues, negligence during smoking or picnicking near fields, and electrical faults from transmission lines crossing farmland. The third is deliberate action. While this possibility exists and requires serious investigation, he cautioned against hastily attributing every fire to criminal intent, as this may distract from addressing the more structural and common causes, and hinder the development of effective preventive responses.
He emphasized that smart monitoring and early warning form the cornerstone of any successful prevention system. Using climate data and remote sensing, risk maps can identify areas most prone to ignition before disaster strikes. Drones equipped with thermal cameras can detect hotspots at their inception, offering a precious window for intervention. Jordan has begun moving in this direction, but ELZUBI urged expanding these tools to cover agricultural fields of all types—not only forests—and linking them to operations rooms capable of mobilizing within minutes.
He added that creating buffer strips and plowed firebreaks around high-risk fields remains one of the most effective measures to break fire continuity and prevent spread between plots. Providing nearby water points and basic firefighting equipment shortens response time and prevents fires from escalating beyond control before civil defense arrives. Farmers and local residents, he stressed, are the closest, fastest, and most capable of intervening. Forming community firefighting teams, training them in initial suppression methods, and strengthening early reporting culture should be invested in as a first line of defense. Public awareness about the dangers of lighting fires near fields and the importance of residue management must also be integrated into agricultural extension messages reaching every farm.
ELZUBI highlighted that the most neglected dimension in protecting fields remains the farmer’s economic safety net. Preventive measures, however necessary, remain incomplete without an effective agricultural insurance system that compensates farmers quickly and fairly, encouraging them to continue rather than abandon their land.
He concluded by stating that reminders that this year’s fires do not threaten the strategic wheat reserve should not lead to complacency. Rather, they must be read as an indicator of a different kind of threat: the danger lies not in today’s bread, but in tomorrow’s agriculture.