water innovation technologies
TRANSCRIPT
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WATER INNOVATION TECHNOLOGIES
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE AGRICULTURE PRIVATE
SECTOR TO IDENTIFY NEW MARKET ACTORS
December 2019
This assessment was prepared by International Water Management Institute (IWMI) under the
United States Agency for International Development Water Innovation Technologies (WIT)
project.
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An assessment of the agriculture private sector to identify new market actors 2
WATER INNOVATION TECHNOLOGIES
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE AGRICULTURE PRIVATE SECTOR
TO IDENTIFY NEW MARKET ACTORS
DECEMBER 2019
WATER INNOVATION TECHNOLOGIES PROJECT
Mercy Corps
Seventh Circle, 3 Tabasheer street, Building No.8,
P.O.Box 830684, Amman 11183 Jordan.
Phone: (+962) 6 554 8570/1/2, Fax: (+962) 6 554 8573
Email: [email protected]
www.mercycorps.org
This assessment was prepared by:
The International Water Management Institute (IWMI)
Level 3, 7 Abed El-Hady Saleh st., Off Nile street,
Giza, Cairo – Egypt.
www.iwmi.cgiar.org
This document was prepared for Mercy Corps by the International Water Management
Institute under the United States Agency for International Development Water Innovations
Technologies (WIT) Project under Contract No. AID-278-A-17-0002
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An assessment of the agriculture private sector to identify new market actors 3
CONTENTS
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4
2. BACKGROUND 5
3. OBJECTIVE OF THE BRIEF ASSESSMENT 5
4. METHODOLOGY 5
4.1. SUPPLIERS’ ANALYSIS – CASE STUDIES: 8
4.2. RETAILERS’ ANALYSIS – CASE STUDIES: 32
5. SUMMARY FINDINGS 38
6. RECOMMENDED SUPPLIERS 40
7. RECOMMENDATIONS AND THE WAY FORWARD 44
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE 1: SUPPLIER IDENTIFIED IN THE FARMS SURVEY DONE BY ICBA ...................... 6
TABLE 2: SUPPLIERS INTERVIEWED BY IWMI ........................................................................... 7
TABLE 3: SUPPLIERS’ SELECTION CRITERIA ............................................................................ 40
TABLE 4: SUPPLIERS’ SELECTION DETAILED RESULTS ...................................................... 42
LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE 1: SWOT ANALYSIS OF ALJABALI..................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
FIGURE 2: SWOT ANALYSIS OF AL-KARAMA & BARADA ............................................... 12
FIGURE 3: SWOT ANALYSIS OF AL-KARAMA & BARADA ................................................. 14
FIGURE 4: SWOT ANALYSIS OF UNIVERSAL .......................................................................... 16
FIGURE 5: SWOT ANALYSIS OF ALWASAEL .......................................................................... 18
FIGURE 6: SWOT ANALYSIS OF ALSHIRAA ............................................................................ 20
FIGURE 7: SWOT ANALYSIS OF ALJUMAIRA .......................................................................... 22
FIGURE 8: SWOT ANALYSIS OF ALKURDI .............................................................................. 24
FIGURE 9: SWOT ANALYSIS OF RAMA..................................................................................... 26
FIGURE 10: SWOT ANALYSIS OF THE AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH COMPANY ...... 28
FIGURE 11: SWOT ANALYSIS OF SIKAYAT ALKHAYRAT .................................................. 30
FIGURE 12: SWOT ANALYSIS OF ARZAQ ............................................................................... 32
FIGURE 13: SWOT ANALYSIS OF ALZBEDI ............................................................................. 34
FIGURE 14: SWOT ANALYSIS OF FARMER FOUNDATION ............................................... 35
FIGURE 15: SWOT ANALYSIS OF ALSHAWABKA ................................................................. 36
FIGURE 16: SWOT ANALYSIS OF AQILI ................................................................................... 38
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1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report was prepared by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) for the
Water Innovation Technologies (WIT) Project as part of the work plan for FY20. The report
presents the findings of the rapid survey activity that was conducted by IWMI to identify more
potential irrigation systems suppliers from the agriculture private sector in Jordan. The WIT
Project proposes to expand collaboration with the proposed suppliers and increase the reach
out of water saving technologies (WST) and practices to more farmers and thus achieve the
project target of water savings.
The identification of suppliers is primarily based on ICBA’s farms survey which was conducted
in 2018 with farmers from Azraq and Mafraq and identified suppliers who have market share in
Mafraq and Azraq. IWMI further identified additional suppliers through word of mouth from
the first group of suppliers and WIT Project teams.
Nearly all retailers in target areas were interviewed due to the limited number of retailers in
Mafraq and Azraq.
The survey was conducted through personal interviews with key people for the different
suppliers, to understand the range of irrigation products and services provided by the suppliers
and their willingness to collaborate with the project. The results were analysed and suppliers
were ranked based on a criteria that was co-developed by IWMI and the Mercy Corps
Agriculture Team. The main findings are summarized below.
Willingness to partner with the WIT Project
The findings of this study indicate that all interviewed suppliers are willing to collaborate with
the WIT Project. However, not all of them have experience in WST. Furthermore, the vast
majority of the suppliers don’t provide advisory services because farmers do not usually ask for
these services. After sales services are provided based on farmers’ request and usually over the
phone, unless otherwise needed.
The need for options to reduce the cost of Water saving technologies
One of the findings from the suppliers’ point of view, which is the main barrier for farmers to
adopt WST, is the high cost involved. It is therefore important to work on financial solutions to
make these technologies more affordable and enhance the adoption of WST.
Capacity Development opportunities for suppliers
There is a need to train the suppliers on different aspects such as WST marketing,
communication skills, technical training in relation to irrigation systems and irrigation advisory
services. The findings also suggest that the current focus of these suppliers is irrigation systems
sales only, rather than focusing on providing full services to farmers such as the design of
irrigation systems or irrigation advisory services. However, there is a couple of suppliers who
may have more potential to provide designs and irrigation advisory due to their experience in
similar projects or because they have full time irrigation engineers.
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Suitability Ranking of Suppliers
IWMI has ranked suppliers based on their suitability to partner with the WIT Project. Since the
ranking was based on a very brief survey we strongly recommend that Mercy Corps further
conducts due diligence process on the highly ranked suppliers. It is essential for the WIT
project to hold more in depth discussions with the suppliers to understand their motives and
potential, and to come up to a mutual agreement on the type of collaboration that is suitable to
the supplier and to the project.
2. Background
The Water Innovation Technologies (WIT) project, is a five year, USAID funded project that
aims at saving 18.5 Mm3 from groundwater resources in Jordan by 2022. Savings are expected
to come from the agriculture sector and the household sector. However, due to the fact that
water consumed in the agriculture sector is far more than that consumed at the household
level, 85% of water savings are expected from the agriculture sector.
The project is following a Market Systems Development (MSD) approach in which the project
is working with the market actors to promote water saving technologies among farmers in
Mafraq governorate and Azraq district instead of directly dealing with farmers. This approach
would underpin the sustainability ambition as once business relationships are built and
strengthened between big suppliers in Amman and retailers in Mafraq and Azraq, water saving
technologies would be available readily to farmers in target areas and under affordable finance
themes beyond the project life span.
3. Objective of the Brief Assessment
The objective of this assessment is to identify more market actors in the agriculture
private sector in Jordan, and carrying out an initial analysis of their strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and threats that are essential for WIT implementation plan in FY20.
As part of the activities in the fourth year of the project (FY20), IWMI has been requested
by the Agriculture Team to undertake a quick assessment of the major irrigation systems
for suppliers/manufacturers in Amman, and retailers in Mafraq and Azraq. The aim of this
activity is to understand the range of products and services provided by these suppliers in
relation to irrigation, their current business collaboration with other suppliers in the
market and willingness to collaborate with the WIT Project. The ultimate goal is to
expand collaboration with more suppliers in the market and increase the reach of
suppliers and water saving technologies to more farmers and achieve the project’s target
of water savings. This review will recommend potential partners for the WIT Project to
partner with.
4. Methodology:
The study conducted interviews with selected suppliers, using previously prepared survey
questions were conducted to collect information from the suppliers. Suppliers in Amman were
selected based on the findings of farms survey that was conducted by ICBA early in 2018. The
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findings of the ICBA survey showed that there are 16 major suppliers of irrigation systems who
provide irrigation products to farmers in Mafraq and Azraq with the majority of them have
market share in the two locations and a few have market share in either in Mafraq or Azraq
(Table 1). The majority of these suppliers have factories/offices in Amman. However, to ensure
that the survey covers as many respondents as possible of major suppliers of irrigation systems
and services, additional number of suppliers in Amman were selected and also interviewed. On
the other hand, retailers in Mafraq and Azraq were selected based on ICBA survey, in addition
to other retailers who were identified by ICBA influencer in Mafraq and Azraq. The interviewed
suppliers are presented in (Table 2).
The respondents were all key individuals within their company to be able to answer all sets of
questions. IWMI developed the survey questions in close consultation with the Agriculture
Team, Access to Finance Team, Institutional Strengthening Team and a WIT business consultant
to ensure the questions provide the project with all required information that will inform the
implementation of the project in FY20. Annex 1 shows the final set of questions that were used
for the research survey. The face to face interviews were conducted in October and
November 2019 for about three weeks. Follow-up questions and clarifications for some
respondents were conducted over the personal interviews.
The Table below show suppliers identified by ICBA in the farms survey that was conducted
earlier in the project:
Table 1: supplier identified in the farms survey done by ICBA
Supplier name Location Current status (November
2019)
Aljabali Mafraq and Azraq Active
Universal Azraq Active
Israa Mafraq and Azraq Active – the focus is waste
and water big pipes –
irrigation pipes are of less
focus
Karama Mafraq and Azraq Active
Alkurdi Azraq Active
Alwasael Mafraq and Azraq Active
Alhuda Azraq Closed
Mada Mafraq and Azraq Active
Alsghier Azraq Closed
Alshahbaa Azraq Closed
Alshiraa Azraq Active
Mais Mafraq and Azraq Active
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Alarabia Mafraq and Azraq Active
Shdefat Mafraq Not active, sells only input
supplies
NDICO Mafraq Active
Rama Mafraq Active
Table 2: Suppliers Interviewed by IWMI
Suppliers
identified in
ICBA survey
Location Interview status Additional suppliers
interviewed by IWMI
Alarabia Amman Interviewed by IWMI Farmer foundation –
Mafraq
Shdefat Mafraq Interviewed by IWMI Zbedi – Mafraq
Mais Amman Interviewed by WIT/business
consultant
Agriculture Research
Company – Amman
Aljabali Amman Interviewed by IWMI Aljumaira – Amman
Rama Zarqa Interviewed by IWMI Shawabka – Mafraq
Alkarama Amman Interviewed by IWMI
Arzaq - Irbid Amman Interviewed by IWMI
Mada Amman Interviewed by IWMI
Universal Amman Interviewed by IWMI
Alkurdi Amman Interviewed by IWMI
Alshiraa Amman Interviewed by IWMI
INDICO Amman Interviewed by WIT/business
consultant
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4.1. Suppliers’ analysis – case studies:
4.1.1. Al-Jabali:
Brief background
This is a major supplier of irrigation systems, located in Amman. The company was established
in 1990 by Ghazi Al-Jabali and currently managed by Firas Ghazi Al-Jabali. There are two pipe
factories under this company which are located in Yadodeh and Kastal in Amman.
Sales and after sales services
The company has been manufacturing glass reinforced (GR) pipes for both vegetables and tree
crops since 1990 with a production capacity of 22000 pack/year. About 80% of produced pipes
are sold in Jordan with part of them sold in Mafraq for farms with areas up to 600 dunums (60
ha), while up to 20% of their products are exported to some African countries and Iraq.
Besides manufacturing GR pipes, the company also sells emitters including viro-jet and pressure
compensating (PC) emitters that they usually purchase from local and international suppliers
(suppliers in Europe). The company also sells other irrigation supplementary parts such as
accessories, filtration systems and fertigation systems.
The company provides a wide range of irrigation services including irrigation systems design,
evaluation, commissioning, installation coupled with the selection of suitable filtration systems
and pumps. Furthermore, the company sometimes, based on demand, provide irrigation
problem solving services including problems related to the design of the network and irrigation
advisory. The responsible staff usually collect all relevant information that is essential before
selling irrigation systems such as cultivated areas, crop type, distance between plants, water
source capacity verbally, and they sometime conduct field visits to verify this information if
required. The staff is usually able to advise the farmer on the best filtration system that is
suitable for the farm conditions and they help the farmer in selecting a suitable pump, however,
when it comes to purchasing or fixing the pump, they usually refer the farmer to the
manufacturer/trader of the pump. The company also provides after sales services to the
customers. These services are limited to solving technical problems that may emerge after
installing the system.
The main challenge to increasing their sales is the price competition between locally produced
and imported irrigation systems and parts (including emitters), therefore, there is a need to
enhance the marketing strategy for such products. Products imported from outside are usually
more expensive than locally produced products, therefore, good marketing strategy could
enhance farmers’ perception of the value of these products and thus increase the adoption
Advisory services
The company does not provide irrigation advisory services such as irrigation scheduling,
however, they provide solutions that help the farmer reduce water application through mulch,
shading nets and ponds lining material. The majority of the company’s customers don’t ask for
advisory services except for a few customers who require a design and commissioning of the
irrigation systems especially those who establish new farms. In this case the company usually
hires independent irrigation design engineers. The company showed willingness to provide
advisory services if trained staff is available.
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Supply Chain
The company manufactures GR pipes and sell them inside and outside the country. However,
they buy the emitters from local companies such as Al-Wasael and the Agricultural Research
Company, and they import PC emitters from Spain. The company believes there is no any
items other than what they sell in their shop, however, they are willing to promote water
saving technologies that the project would support.
The company indicated that the main barrier to adopt water saving technologies is the high
cost, and from their point of view, the adoption of water saving technologies could be
enhanced if these technologies are offered at lower prices and if agriculture exports increase.
This would lead to the recovery of the agriculture market and ultimately enhance their sales.
Future Perspective and willingness to collaborate with WIT
The company has established business relationships with other suppliers in the market such as
Al-Wasael and the Agriculture Research Company, and they are willing to collaborate with
other suppliers in the market and with the WIT project. The desired type of collaboration
would be through enhancing their production lines to manufacture products with better quality.
Institutional Strengthening & access to finance
The company’s market share was initially about 30% of the total GR pipes sold in Jordan mainly
for vegetable crops and the average number of their customers in the high season is around 10
customers per day. However, in the last three years, their sales have halved to 15% due to the
decline in the agriculture market. The company’s payment terms include cash and instalments
with checks or drafts as collaterals. The flexibility in their payment terms and their good
reputation has helped them maintain their presence in the market. However, this has also
created a one million Jordanian Dinar of bad debt.
A SWOT analysis was conducted for Al-Jabali based on the interview conducted by IWMI
(Figure 1).
Strengths:
High Quality of the product
Good reputation (farmers)?
Well known in Mafraq
Provides after sales services
Willing to provide advisory services
Flexible payment terms
Sells water saving solutions/products such as
PC shading nets and mulching
Weaknesses:
No qualified staff to provide advisory
service
Manufacturing machines are old
No clear marketing strategy for water
saving technologies
Sells GR systems mainly, doesn’t have
big record in selling PC emitters.
Low debt recovery (1m)
Opportunities:
Could be a good player in Mafraq
Willingness to provide advisory services if
supported with qualified staff
Threats:
Competition on prices with other
suppliers
SWOT
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4.1.2. Al-Karama and Barada:
Background
These are two major companies specialized in irrigation systems, located in Amman and
owned by the same person, Mr. Mamoun Nakkar. He is also the manager of both
companies and he has more than 35 years’ experience in the field of irrigation
technologies. The first company (Karama) was established in 1983.
Sales and After Sales Services
The company manufactures GR pipes for both vegetables and tree crops with a
production capacity of up to 25 tons per day, in addition to a wide range of high flow
emitters such as (viro jet, small sprinklers) and PC emitters with a capacity that reaches
one million pieces per month.
About 65% of manufactured pipes are sold in Jordan with part of them sold in Mafraq
and Azraq for farms with areas up to 4000 dunums, while 35% of their products are
exported to other countries including Morocco and Yemen. They also sell to other shops and companies in Jordan and according to the owner, they have the biggest sales
record of irrigation systems in Jordan, this include sales inside and outside the country.
The company provides a wide range of irrigation services including irrigation systems
design, evaluation, commissioning, installation in addition to the selection of suitable
filtration systems and pumps. Furthermore, they provide irrigation problem solving
services including problems related to the design of the network and irrigation advisory.
On the other hand, the company also sells other irrigation supplementary parts such as
accessories, filtration systems and fertigation systems and they help the farmer in the
selection of best filtration system based on water tests that they usually do if requested
by the farmer.
The responsible staff usually collects information that is essential before selling irrigation
systems. The information includes cultivated areas, crop type, distance between plants,
water source, water quality, soil type and air quality through field visits. They also
provide the best possible irrigation design and services to ensure there will not be any
issues after installation. They believe that a good design with quality material and good
installation services would minimize after sales issues. They sometimes provide
irrigation problem solving services to projects handled by other irrigation companies.
They have long experience in this field.
On the other hand, when it comes to water saving technologies, the company doesn’t
recommend promoting PC systems as they believe it is risky due to deteriorating water
quality in Jordan. They prefer to promote good irrigation design solutions to enhance
water use efficiency at farm level. However, delivering such water saving solutions
would require supporting their staff with required training and logistics support
(transportation to the farms). As per the owner’s records and knowledge of the market,
the company’s market share is 50% of all sold pipes and emitters in Jordan, and the
average number of customers in the high season is (1000-2000) customers per month.
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Advisory Services
The company usually provides advisory services if requested by farmers, however they
think the demand for this kind of services is low, and this includes irrigation scheduling.
Instead, they sell products that help in reducing water application such as mulch and
shading nets. The company is willing to provide more advisory services if they receive
training in communication skills with farmers, this is due to the fact that when it comes
to advisory services, convincing the farmer of using less water is difficult. Irrigation at
farms is influenced by inherited irrigation practices which implies applying more water
to ensure profitable produce. In such a case they recommend automated irrigation
systems and they usually hire good consultants to automate the network based on farm
conditions and weather maps.
Supply Chain
All irrigation systems sold by the company are manufactured by them. However, the
sometimes purchase accessories and filtration systems from either inside or outside the
country. They think that there is no demand on any other products and they believe
that the high cost of water saving technologies is the main barrier that holds back
farmers from adopting these technologies. More adoption will require reducing the cost
of these technologies and through working closely with the Chamber of Trade and Industry to set standards and specifications for irrigation parts, mainly emitters.
The company is interested in promoting fast production lines for inline-GR pipes. They
also believe that farmers would be interested in advanced/optimized irrigation systems
with good irrigation management tips and advisory services; however, this should be
done through establishing demo sites that are accessible to farmers to see the
technologies of their results, or can be done by providing free samples to farmers to
test the technology.
Future perspective and willingness to collaborate with the project
The company is willing to collaborate with other suppliers in the market and the WIT
project and they are open to discuss the type of collaboration further. They have past
successful collaboration with donor funded projects (USAID).
Institutional Strengthening & access to finance
The company’s payment terms include mainly cash and instalments for old customers
only. They require checks as collaterals and they had past experience in selling irrigation systems through the Islamic bank. The bad debt is almost 1 million JD.
A SWOT analysis was conducted for Al-Karama and Barada based on the interview
conducted by IWMI (Figure 2).
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Figure 1: SWOT analysis of Al-Karama & Barada
Strengths:
Good Quality products
Fast production line
Well known in Mafraq
and Azraq
Manufacture PC
emitters
Provides after sales
services
Willing to provide
advisory services
Sells water saving
solutions/products
such as PC, shading
nets and mulching
Willing to provide
optimized irrigation
design to save water
International
experience in irrigation
services
Experience with
donor-funded projects
Qualified irrigation
consultants
Clear marketing
strategy for water
saving technologies in
case of collaboration
with the project
They have a shop in
Azraq
Weaknesses:
They believe PC is
not suitable for
Jordan, however, the
can provide other
water saving
solutions (such as
optimized design)
No flexibility in
payment terms
Opportunities:
Could be a good player in Azraq
Willingness to provide advisory
services if supported with training
Willingness to provide optimized
irrigation systems design
Threats:
The declining profit in the
AG would affect their
business.
Low debt recovery (1 mil)
SWOT
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4.1.3. Mada
Background
The Mada Company is located in Amman – Sahab.Mr. Naser Yousef Fadda owns and manages
Mada which specializes in manufacturing irrigation pipes, fittings and accessories. Mada was
established in 1995.
Sales and After Sales
The company manufactures GR pipes for tree and vegetables crops with a capacity that reaches
220 packs/day in addition to manufacturing the inline GR emitters, fittings and accessories.
Generally, Mada sells 90% of their products inside Jordan to farms with areas of up to 6000
dunums and export 10% to other countries. Internal sales have decreased by 50% in the last
three years while exports has decreased by 75% in the same period of time. The company
doesn’t sell PC emitters, filters or fertigation systems. They don’t provide other irrigation
services such as irrigation problem solving or the design, evaluation or installation of irrigation
systems. However, if such services are requested by farmers, they usually hire independent
irrigation consultants to take over such tasks. They collect information on crop type, distance
between trees and desired emitter flow before they sell irrigation systems. They also advise the
farmers on the best irrigation system that is suitable to his farm conditions, best filtration
systems based on the water source and irrigation system; however, they don’t have expertise
in pump selection.
After sales services are essential to maintain the company’s reputation, therefore, they follow
up with farmers to ensure the system is working well and they provide a 3 year warranty for
laterals in case of manufacturing defaults. The company believes that creating more demand on
inline and online GR pipes can increase their sales. The owner couldn’t provide an estimation of
his market share; however, he indicated that the average number of customers in the high
season is 15-20 customers daily.
Irrigation Advisory Services
The company doesn’t provide advisory services to farmers. They rather sell products that help
farmers reduce water application such as mulch and shading nets. They sometimes provide
irrigation systems design services based on farmer request, however, the demand on such
services is low. They are willing to provide irrigation advisory services if there a demand.
However, this case they will need to hire trained staff and to consider the cost of farm visits.
Supply Chain
The company sells products manufactured by them. However, they also purchase some
products from other local companies such as Al-Wasael. They are not interested in promoting
other technologies due to the decline in the agricultural business and the fact that farmers may
be hesitant to purchase water saving technologies due to the high cost. Providing these
technologies at lower prices would increase the adoption of water saving technologies.
Future perspectives and willingness to collaborate with the WIT project
The company is willing to collaborate with other suppliers in the market (mainly Al-Wasael)
and the WIT project and they are open to discuss the type of collaboration further.
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Institutional Strengthening & access to finance
The company’s payment terms include cash and instalments. They require checks and drafts
and their bad debt is almost 700,000 JD.
A SWOT analysis was conducted for Mada based on the interview conducted by IWMI (Figure
3).
Figure 2: SWOT analysis of Al-Karama & Barada
Strengths:
Well known in Mafraq
and Azraq
Provides after sales
services (Warranty and
follow up over phone)
Willing to collaborate
with other suppliers
and WIT
Good knowledge in
irrigation system
selection, filters
selection
Flexibility in payment
terms
Weaknesses:
Experienced in
manufacturing and
sales, no experience
in irrigation design or
advisory.
Doesn’t sell PC
No clear marketing
strategy
Not interested in
promoting other
water saving
technologies due to
the high cost
Opportunities:
Willingness to provide advisory
services if supported with training
of their staff
Willingness to collaborate with
other market actors and WIT
Threats:
The declining profit in the
AG business would affect
their business.
Low debt recovery (700K)
SWOT
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4.1.4. Universal
Background
This is a major supplier of irrigation systems, located in Amman – Sahab Industrial City. The
company was established in 2000 by Mr. Khaleel Radi Al-Bash and currently managed by Mr.
Ismaiel Abo-Gharaibah. The company is specialized in manufacturing irrigation systems (pipes
and emitters).
Sales and After Sales Services
The company manufactures irrigation pipes including GR and oval pipes with a capacity that
reaches 400 tons per month. About 40% of these pipes are sold in Jordan while 60% are
exported to 30 different countries including Iraq. They also manufacture pipes production lines
with a capacity of 4-5 machines per year. There has been no change in the internal sales over
the last five years, however, exports decreased by 5% during the same period.
The company sells PC emitters, filters, fertigation systems and irrigation fittings. They also
provide a wide range of irrigation services such as design and evaluation of irrigation systems
and irrigation problem solving including problems related to irrigation technologies or advisory.
They have an established irrigation design department and they collect sufficient information
from the farmer before selling irrigation systems in order to provide suitable design (if
required) and suitable filtration systems and pump selection. They also provide after sales
services that covers solving any problems after installing the system. Improving these services
will require training their staff on solving on-farm common irrigation problems. Their market
share is between 20-30% and the average number of their customers is around 100 customer
per month in the high season.
Irrigation Advisory Services
The company currently doesn’t provide irrigation advisory services such as irrigation systems
design and maintenance except for some of their customers who ask to provide a detailed
irrigation system design. However, they provide products that help farmers reduce water
application such as mulch and shading nets. They believe that there is no demand on irrigation
advisory services because farmers trust irrigation practices commonly used (over irrigation)
rather than suppliers’ advice.
Supply Chain
The company sells pipes they manufacture; however, they import inline and online emitters
from Europe. They are interested in promoting new technologies such as sub-surface irrigation.
However, such a technology will require training farmers on how to use and maintain it. As the
cost of water saving technologies is high, increasing the adoption of such technologies would
require reducing the price. They believe that farmers would be interested in water saving
technologies coupled with good advisory services, and this will ultimately improve the
company’s sales.
Future Perspectives and Willingness to Collaborate With the WIT Project
The company is willing to collaborate with other suppliers in the market and the WIT project and they are open to discuss the type of collaboration further.
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An assessment of the agriculture private sector to identify new market actors 16
Institutional Strengthening & access to finance
The majority of the company’s sales are to other suppliers/retailers. Their payment terms
include cash and debt (instalments) and they require checks as collaterals. Bad debt is almost
15% of their sales.
SWOT analysis was conducted for Universal based on the interview conducted by IWMI
(Figure 4).
Figure 3: SWOT analysis of Universal
Strengths:
Good Quality products
Fast production line
Well known in Mafraq
and Azraq
Wide variety of
irrigation parts
(emitters and fittings)
Provides after sales
services and willing to
provide advisory
services
Sells water saving
solutions/products
such as PC, shading
nets and mulch
Stable business (no
decrease in internal
sales in the last three
years)
They have permanent
irrigation design
engineers
Big part of their sales is
to other
suppliers/retailers
Flexible payment terms
Weaknesses:
They don’t provide
advisory services
Currently focusing on
business
opportunities outside
Jordan
Opportunities:
Willingness to provide
advisory services if
supported with training
Open to new – water
saving technologies
Threats:
The declining profit in the
AG business would affect
their business.
High energy cost for
manufacturing
High Taxes
SWOT
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An assessment of the agriculture private sector to identify new market actors 17
Strengths: irrigation ‘spare’ parts?
Alwasael
Background
This is a major supplier of irrigation systems located in Amman. The company was established
in 1985 by Mr. Mustafa Asaad who has more than 30 years’ experience in the field of irrigation.
The company is mainly specialized in manufacturing high quality irrigation systems fittings and
accessories (Rain A brand). They also sell other irrigation products such as pipes and emitters.
Sales and After Sales
The company sells irrigation fittings and accessories that they manufacture, in addition to selling
GR pipes and emitters including PC which they usually import or purchase from local suppliers.
Their customers have farms of areas of more than 1000 dunums. They also sell filters and
fertigation systems in addition to electrical valves. They provide other irrigation services such
as design and installation of irrigation systems and irrigation problem solving. They also advise
the farmer on the best irrigation system that is suitable to the farm conditions and the best
filtration system based on farm conditions. From the company’s point of view, there is no
demand on after sales services as they usually provide high standard sales services. They believe
that their market share is almost 80% as they sell products to other companies and they have
more than 1200 different items in their shop.
Advisory Services
The company doesn’t provide irrigation scheduling services; however, they provide irrigation
systems maintenance services in addition to selling products that help farmers reduce water
application such as mulch and shading nets. The company has two permanent site engineers
who are responsible for irrigation system design and following up with farmers on post
installation issues. However, the company believes that working in advisory services is not
feasible currently due to the low demand for such services. If this changes in the future, the
company will need to hire specialized staff to take over such tasks.
Supply Chain
The company sells GR pipes imported from Al-Wasael Factory in Saudi Arabia. They also import other irrigation systems parts from Taiwan, The United States, China and Greece. The
main barrier that prevents farmers from adopting water saving technologies is the high cost and
the influence of traditional irrigation habits. In order to increase the adoption of such
technologies, it would require reducing the cost and providing free samples to farmers to try
the new technologies and realize the benefits.
Future Perspectives and Willingness to Collaborate with the WIT Project
The company has already established business relationship with other companies such as Rain
Bird, and they are willing to collaborate with other companies and with the WIT project. The
preferred type of collaboration can be through cost-sharing. They have past experience
working with donor funded projects (Through the Ministry of Agriculture and GIZ), however,
it was limited to selling irrigation systems.
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An assessment of the agriculture private sector to identify new market actors 18
Access to Finance
Their payment terms include cash (80% of sales) and instalments (20% of sales) and they
require checks as collaterals. Bad debt is almost 1% of their sales.
A SWOT analysis was conducted for Alwasael based on the interview conducted by IWMI
(Figure 5).
Figure 4: SWOT analysis of Alwasael
Strengths:
Good Quality products
Well known in Mafraq
and Azraq
Provides good sales
services
Willing to provide
advisory services
Sells water saving
solutions/products
such as PC, shading
nets and mulching
Strong relationships
with international
suppliers
Experience with
donor-funded projects
They have qualified
irrigation engineers
Clear marketing
strategy for water
saving technologies in
case of collaboration
with the project
Large market share
Weaknesses:
No after sales
services (as they
provide strong sales
services)
No advisory services
Inflexible payment
terms.
Opportunities:
Could be a good player in
Mafraq and Azraq
Willingness to provide
advisory services if
supported with training
Threats:
The declining profit in the
AG business would affect
their business.
SWOT
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An assessment of the agriculture private sector to identify new market actors 19
4.1.5. Al-Shiraa’
Background
This is a company located in Amman – Wehdat area. It is owned and managed by Mr. Mahed
Al-Sosan and specialized in manufacturing irrigation pipes, emitters and fittings. The company
was established in 1979.
Sales and After Sales Service
The company manufactures GR pipes for tree and vegetables crops, viro-jet and PC emitters in
addition to fittings and accessories. Generally, the company sells almost 100% of their products
within Jordan to farmers with areas of up to 400 dunums; however, sales have decreased by
75% in the last three years.
The company provides other services such as irrigation systems design, evaluation, installation
and irrigation problem solving including technical problems and irrigation advisory related
problems. They collect sufficient information from farms before selling the systems such as
area, crop type, the water source and they advise the farmer on the best irrigation system that
is suitable to his farm conditions, best filtration systems based on the water source and
irrigation system, and suitable pump. They also provide after sales services if requested by the
farmer, and this includes following up and solving post installation problems. Their market share
is 15% and their average number of customers in the high season is 15-20 customers daily.
Irrigation Advisory Services
The company provides irrigation advisory services such as irrigation scheduling if requested by
farmers and they sell other products that help farmers reduce water application such as mulch
and shading nets. They are also interested in promoting other water saving technologies such as water boxes.
Supply Chain
The company mainly sells products that they manufacture. However, they also purchase some
products from other local companies to complement their products. They are interested in
promoting inline PC irrigation systems and automatic filters. They believe that the high cost of
water saving technologies would prevent farmers from adopting these technologies. More
adoption requires decreasing the cost of such technologies and providing good irrigation
advisory tips.
Future perspectives and willingness to collaborate with the WIT project
The company is willing to collaborate with other suppliers in the market, however, they have
already business collaboration with Al-Wasael, and they purchase inline-PC systems and some
irrigation fittings from them. They are willing to collaborate with the WIT project and open to
discuss the preferred type of collaboration with the project. They have previous experience
working with the Ministry of Agriculture and The Hashemite Fund for Development of Jordan
Badia.
Access to Finance
The company’s payment terms include cash only and they don’t have bad debt. They don’t sell
any item though banks.
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An assessment of the agriculture private sector to identify new market actors 20
A SWOT analysis was conducted for Alshiraa based on the interview conducted by IWMI
(Figure 6).
Figure 5: SWOT analysis of Alshiraa
Strengths:
Good Quality products
Well known in Mafraq
and Azraq
Provides after sales
services and advisory
services (if requested
by farmers)
Sells water saving
solutions/products
such as PC, shading
nets and mulching
Experience with
donor-funded projects
Clear marketing
strategy for water
saving technologies in
case of collaboration
with the project
Weaknesses:
Inflexible payment
terms.
Opportunities:
Could be a good player in Mafraq
and Azraq
Willingness to promote new
water saving technologies if the
receive a training n marketing
Threats:
The declining profit in the
AG business would affect
their business.
SWOT
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An assessment of the agriculture private sector to identify new market actors 21
4.1.6. Al-Jumaira
Background
This is a company located in Amman – Makkah Street, owned and managed by Mr. Sae’d
Kashoua’ since 1989 and specialized in landscapes and input supplies. However, the company
also involved in some high profile projects (Ayla Oasis) and has established business
relationships with irrigation companies outside such as Netafim from which they import part of
their products. They don’t work currently with big farmers in Mafraq and Azraq, however, they have an irrigation design department with strong staff and more than 20 years’ experience in
irrigation design.
Sales and After Sales
The company sells GR pipes and PC emitters (from Netafim, SAB and Adritec) and irrigation
fittings and accessories from Valenti. They also sell filtration systems (from Universal) and
fertigation systems (from Netafim). The company provides other services such as irrigation
systems design, evaluation, installation and irrigation problem solving including technical
problems and irrigation advisory related problems. They collect sufficient information from
farms before selling the systems such as area, crop type, soil type, the water source and they
have the capacity and knowledge to advise the farmer on the best irrigation system that is
suitable to his farm conditions, best filtration systems based on the water source and irrigation
system, and suitable pump. However, it is essential to emphasize that all these services are
currently provided to either landscape projects or small/high profile farms.
They also provide after sales services if requested to ensure the system is working up to the
expected standards after installation. The company doesn’t work currently in Azraq and
Mafraq, however, they are interested in providing advisory services in such areas and this would
require training their irrigation staff on such services. The company’s sales decreased by 80%
than the last year due to the downturn in agriculture business.
Irrigation Advisory Services
The company is willing to provide irrigation advisory services such as irrigation scheduling and
irrigation systems maintenance if requested by farmers and they sell other products that help
farmers reduce water application such as mulch and shading nets.
Supply Chain
The company sells products imported from outside (Netafim products) and products
manufactured locally (Universal products), however, they are interested in promoting
automated irrigation systems and weather stations that help in optimizing irrigation scheduling.
They believe that the high cost of water saving technologies would prevent farmers from adopting these technologies. In addition to the common belief that applying more water would
guarantee better produce which is considered one of the major challenges to promoting water
saving technologies.
Future perspectives and willingness to collaborate with the WIT project
The company is willing to collaborate with other suppliers in the market; however, they have
already business collaboration with Netafim and Universal. They are willing to collaborate with
the WIT project if the collaboration increases their sales and they are mainly interested in
providing automated irrigation systems coupled with irrigation advisory.
Access to Finance
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An assessment of the agriculture private sector to identify new market actors 22
The company’s payment terms include cash only and they don’t have bad debt. They don’t sell
any item through banks.
A SWOT analysis was conducted for ALjumaira based on the interview conducted by IWMI
(Figure 7).
Figure 6: SWOT analysis of Aljumaira
Strengths:
Good Quality products
Provides after sales
services
Sells water saving
solutions/products
such as PC, shading
nets and mulching
Strong business
relationship with
international suppliers
Established irrigation
design department
Weaknesses:
Inflexible payment
terms.
No market share in
Mafraq and Azraq.
High price
Ca be considered as
irrigation design and
advisory provider
only – no potential
contribution to sales
Opportunities:
Could be a provider of
irrigation design and advisory
is supported with good
training
Willingness to promote new
water saving technologies
Threats:
The declining profit in the
AG business would affect
their business.
His products are probably
very expensive
SWOT
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An assessment of the agriculture private sector to identify new market actors 23
4.1.7. Al-Kurdi (Robou’ Alwareef)
Background
This is a company located in Amman – Wehdat area, owned and managed by Mr. Haytham Safi
Alkurdi. The company was established in 1977 and specialized in manufacturing irrigation pipes,
high flow emitters and irrigation fittings.
Sales and After Sales
The company manufactures GR pipes (up to 200 mm diameter) with a capacity of 1 ton per
day, viro-jet emitters in addition to fittings and accessories. Generally, the company sells only
5% of their products inside Jordan to farms with areas of up to 600 dunums and they export
the rest, however, exports has decreased by 60% in the last three years. The company also
owns another factory in Saudi Arabia with higher production capacity. The company sells filters
and fertigation systems purchased from local suppliers. They provide other services such as
irrigation systems design, evaluation, installation and irrigation problem solving including
technical problems and irrigation advisory related problems. They collect sufficient information
from farms before selling the systems such as area, crop type, the water source, pump capacity
and they advise the farmer on the best irrigation system that is suitable to his farm conditions,
best filtration systems based on the water source and irrigation system, and suitable pump.
They also provide after sales services if requested by the farmer to solve any post installation
problem. Their market share is 20% and their average number of customers in the high season
is 50-60 customers (in the full season).
Irrigation Advisory Services
The company doesn’t provides irrigation advisory services such as irrigation scheduling,
however, they sell other products that help farmers reduce water application such as mulch
and shading nets. They believe there is no demand on irrigation advisory services. Their
customers usually ask for technical information about the maximum allowable pressure for
pipes and suitable pumps.
Supply Chain
The company sells its own brand of products. They are interested in promoting PC systems
and improve the pipes row material quality in order to manufacture foldable irrigation pipes.
They believe that the high cost of water saving technologies and the common belief of applying
more water for better produce would prevent farmers from adopting these technologies. More
adoption requires decreasing the cost of these technologies and providing samples to farmers
to test the technology or establishing demo sites.
Future perspectives and willingness to collaborate with the WIT project
The company is willing to collaborate with other suppliers in the market and with the WIT
project and discuss the preferred type of collaboration with the project. However, they don’t
have previous experience working with donor funded projects.
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An assessment of the agriculture private sector to identify new market actors 24
Access to Finance
The company’s payment terms include cash for exports and seasonal payments for farmers
inside Jordan. They require checks and drafts as collaterals. Their bad debt is almost 200,000
JD.
A SWOT analysis was conducted for Alkurdi based in the interview conducted by IWMI (Figure
8).
Figure 7: SWOT analysis of Alkurdi
Strengths:
Good Quality products
Provides after sales
services
Sells water saving
solutions/ shading nets
and mulching
Provides after sales
services
Interested in
promoting water
saving technologies
(mainly PC)
Clear marketing
strategy in case of
collaboration with the
project
Flexible payment terms
Weaknesses:
Doesn’t provide
irrigation advisory
services and he
believes there is no
demand on such
services
Opportunities:
Willingness to promote
new water saving
technologies
Threats:
The declining profit in the
AG business would affect
their business.
SWOT
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An assessment of the agriculture private sector to identify new market actors 25
4.1.8. Rama
Background
This is a company located in Zarqa – Duty Free Area, owned by Ms. Maha Alshaka’a and
partners and manager by Mr. Thaer Alnimr. The company was established in 1984 and
specialized in agriculture machinery, central pivot and sprinkler irrigation systems.
Sales and After Sales
The company is famous for manufacturing agriculture machinery. They also sell central pivot,
sprinkler irrigation systems and fertigation systems. However, they don’t sell other irrigation
systems or filters.
Irrigation Advisory Services
The company doesn’t provides irrigation advisory services such as irrigation scheduling,
however, they sell other products that help farmers reduce water application such as mulch
and shading nets.
Supply Chain
The company doesn’t sell irrigation systems other than central pivot and sprinkler irrigation
systems. However, they are interested in promoting water saving technologies that may be
supported by the project.
Future perspectives and willingness to collaborate with the WIT project
The company is willing to collaborate with other suppliers in the market and with the WIT
project and discuss the preferred type of collaboration with the project. They have previous
experience working with donor funded projects through The International Centre for
Agricultural Research in The Dry Lands (ICARDA).
Access to Finance
The company’s payment terms include cash only and they don’t have bad debts.
A SWOT analysis was conducted for Rama based on the interview that was conducted by
IWMI (Figure 9).
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An assessment of the agriculture private sector to identify new market actors 26
Figure 8: SWOT analysis of Rama
4.1.9. The Agriculture Research Company
Background
This is a supplier of irrigation systems located in Amman - Yadodeh. The company was
established in 2000 by Mr. Mohamad Salameh Omar who has more than 20 year experience in
the field of irrigation and managed by Mr. Alaa Mohammad Abdulhai. The company is
specialized in selling irrigation systems and some input products (fertilizers and pesticides)
Strengths:
Well known in Mafraq
and Azraq
Sells only pipes on
request
Sells mulch and shading
nets
Weaknesses:
Doesn’t provide
irrigation services
including sales, after
sales and advisory
Opportunities:
Willingness to promote
new water saving
technologies and very
well known in WIT areas
Threats:
The declining profit in the
AG business would affect
their business and high tax
SWOT
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An assessment of the agriculture private sector to identify new market actors 27
Sales and After Sales
The company sells irrigation systems including GR pipes, emitters and fittings, filters and
fertigation systems to farms with areas up to 100 dunums. They also provide irrigation services
such as design and installation of irrigation systems and irrigation problem solving. They also
advise the farmer on the best irrigation system that is suitable to the farm conditions and the
best filtration system based on farm conditions. The average number of customers is 2-4 per
day.
Advisory Services
The company provides irrigation advisory services if requested by farmers including irrigation
scheduling and irrigation systems maintenance. They also sell other products that help farmers
reduce water application such as mulch and shading nets. However, the demand on such
services is low.
Supply Chain
The company purchases their products from the local market. They are not interested in
promoting other technologies as they had a factory in the past which is currently closed due to
the declining irrigation systems market. However, the company is still open to the idea of
promoting water saving technologies. From their point of view, the high cost would prevent
farmers from adopting water saving technologies, therefore, reducing the cost would increase
adoption rate.
Future Perspectives and Willingness to Collaborate with the WIT Project
The company purchases their products from the local market and they usually deal with
suppliers who provide less prices. They are willing to collaborate with the project and open to
discussing the specifics further.
Access to Finance
Their payment terms include cash and instalments, and they require checks as collaterals. Bad
debt is almost 40,000 JDs and they don’t sell irrigation systems through banks.
A SWOT analysis was conducted for The Agricultural Research Company (see Figure 10).
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An assessment of the agriculture private sector to identify new market actors 28
Figure 9: SWOT analysis of the Agricultural Research Company
4.1.10. Sikayat Al-Khayrat
Background
This is a supplier of irrigation systems located in Amman – Baqa’a. The company was
established in 2014 by Mr. Ammar Bakkar and partners. The company is managed by Mr.
Ammar who has more than 14 years of experience in irrigation.
Sales and After Sales
The company manufactures irrigation systems including GR pipes with a capacity of 150 pack
per day and emitters (2-40 l/hr flow). About 90% of their products are exported to other
Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries. They also sell filters and fertigation systems
Strengths:
Provide sales, after
sales and advisory
services
Sells mulch and shading
nets
Flexible payment terms
Weaknesses:
Doesn’t have market
share in Mafraq and
Azraq, he works
more in Amman and
Madaba
Hesitant to promote
water saving
technologies
Opportunities:
Open to discuss
collaboration with the
project.
Threats:
The declining profit in the
AG business would affect
their business and high tax
SWOT
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An assessment of the agriculture private sector to identify new market actors 29
which they purchase from the local market. The company provides other irrigation services
such as design and installation of irrigation systems and irrigation problem solving. They also
advise the farmer on the best irrigation system that is suitable to the farm conditions and the
best filtration system based on farm conditions. The average number of customers is 40 per
month. They don’t work in Mafraq and Azraq. Their major customers are located in Ramtha
and Jordan Valley. They estimate that their market share is 5%.
Advisory Services
The company provide irrigation advisory services if requested by farmers including irrigation
scheduling and irrigation systems maintenance. However, the demand on such services is low.
Supply Chain
The company sells products manufactured by them, and they also sell other products that they
obtain from the local market (such as Universal products). They are interested in promoting
tape pipes which are foldable, cheap and the pack could reach 2000m length. They believe that
the fear of change and the common belief of applying more water are the main barriers that
prevent farmers from adopting water saving technologies. Adoption can be enhanced by
providing samples to farmers to try the new systems and by establishing demo-sites.
Future Perspectives and Willingness to Collaborate with the WIT Project
The company is willing to collaborate with other suppliers in the market and with the WIT
project. They are interested in enhancing their sales and marketing capacities through training
to be able to promote new technologies. They have experience in working on projects similar
to WIT in Syria. The company was a full time irrigation technologies and service provider for a
5 year project in Syria that aimed at upgrading the whole irrigation systems in Homs
governorate to advanced irrigation systems. Their scope of work included promoting advanced
irrigation systems, irrigation design and advisory services.
Access to Finance
Their payment terms include cash and instalments, and they require checks and drafts as
collaterals. Bad debt is almost 100,000 JDs and they don’t sell irrigation systems through bank
financing.
A SWOT analysis was conducted for Sikayat Alkhayrat based on the interview that was
conducted by IWMI (Figure 11).
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An assessment of the agriculture private sector to identify new market actors 30
Figure 10: SWOT analysis of Sikayat Alkhayrat
4.1.11. Arzaq
Background
This is a supplier of irrigation systems located in Irbid – Cyber City. The company was
established in 2010 by Mr. Husam Abu Mukh. The company is also managed by the owner who
has 26 years’ experience in manufacturing and irrigation design.
Sales and After Sales
The company sells irrigation systems including GR pipes, PC emitters, viro-jet, sprinkler
systems and irrigation fittings and accessories to farms with areas up to 70 dunums. They
import these products from other companies in Italy and Spain and they are an official
distributer for Netafim products. They also sell filters and fertigation systems. The company
provide other irrigation services such as design and installation of irrigation systems and
irrigation problem solving. They also advise the farmer on the best irrigation system that is
suitable to the farm conditions and the best filtration system based on farm conditions. Their
after sales services include a 1 year warranty and they have a small market share in Mafraq
while they don’t work in Azraq. Their average number of irrigation projects is 20 in the high
season.
Strengths:
Provide sales, after
sales
Provides advisory
services
Sells mulch and shading
nets
Flexible payment terms
Have past experience
in similar projects
Clear marketing
strategy
Weaknesses:
Doesn’t have market
share in Mafraq and
Azraq, he works in
Ramtha and Valley
Opportunities:
Open to discuss
collaboration with the
project.
Can be a provider of
irrigation design and
advisory
Threats:
The declining profit in the
AG business would affect
their business and high tax
SWOT
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An assessment of the agriculture private sector to identify new market actors 31
Advisory Services
The company provide irrigation advisory services including irrigation scheduling and irrigation
systems maintenance. They also sell products that help farmers reduce water application such
as mulch and shading nets.
Supply Chain
The company is an official agent for Netafim products. They also sell emitters imported from
Italy. They are interested in promoting any water saving technology (such as sub-surface
irrigation). They believe that the high cost may prevent farmers from adopting such
technologies. However, a good marketing training would help them increase their marketing
capacities and thus convince farmers to purchase these technologies.
Future Perspectives and Willingness to Collaborate with the WIT Project
The company is willing to collaborate with other suppliers in the market and with the WIT
project. A clear scope of work would motivate them to collaborate with the project. Their
previous experience includes working on irrigation research projects with universities which
enhanced their technical capacities.
Access to Finance
Their payment terms include mainly cash and seasonal payments rarely, and they require checks
as collaterals. Bad debt is almost 1million JDs and they sell irrigation systems through banks for
big irrigation projects only (not individual farmers).
A SWOT analysis was conducted for Arzaq based on the interview that was conducted by
IWMI (Figure 12).
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An assessment of the agriculture private sector to identify new market actors 32
Figure 11: SWOT analysis of Arzaq
4.2. Retailers’ analysis – case studies:
4.2.1. Retailers in Mafraq
4.2.1.1. Alzbedi
Background
This is a retailer located in Mafraq. The company was established in 1988 by Mr. Abdalla
Alsarhan and who currently manages it.
Sales and After Sales
The company sells irrigation systems including GR pipes, PC emitters, viro-jet, irrigation fittings
and accessories to farms in Mafraq with areas of 200 dunums. They also sell filters and simple
fertigation systems and small pumps. The company provide other irrigation services such as
design and installation of irrigation systems and irrigation problem solving. They also advise the
farmer on the best irrigation system that is suitable to the farm conditions and the best
filtration system based on farm conditions. Their after sales services is limited to warranties on
manufacturing faults as there is no demand on after sales services in the area. Their coverage
Strengths:
High quality irrigation
parts
Provide sales, after
sales and advisory
services
Sells mulch and shading
nets
Flexible payment terms
Have past experience
in irrigation projects
and research projects
Clear marketing
strategy
Weaknesses:
Small market share in
Mafraq
No market share in
Azraq
Low debt recovery
(1M)
Opportunities:
Can provide high quality
irrigation parts
Can be a provider of
irrigation design and
advisory
Threats:
The declining profit in the
AG business would affect
their business
SWOT
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An assessment of the agriculture private sector to identify new market actors 33
area is more than 50% of farms in Mafraq and their average number of customers is no less
than 50 customers per day in the high season.
Advisory Services
The company doesn’t provide irrigation advisory services such as irrigation scheduling as there
is no demand for such services. However, when their customers ask questions related to
irrigation advisory, they are able to answer them, but this doesn’t include providing advisory at
farms.
Supply Chain
The company obtain irrigation parts from Amman (mainly Alwasael and Mais). They are
interested in promoting hydroponic systems and advanced fertigation systems. They believe
that farmers are influenced by inherited irrigation practices that implies applying more water,
therefore, it is difficult to convince them in adopting water saving technologies.
Future Perspectives and Willingness to Collaborate with the WIT Project
The company is willing to collaborate with other suppliers in the market and with the WIT
project. Their objective would be entering Azraq irrigation market.
Access to Finance
Their payment terms include cash and seasonal payments (20% of the sales only), and they
don’t require collateral. Bad debt is almost 30,000 JDs and they don’t sell irrigation systems
through banks. The company believes that farmers prefer to purchase irrigation systems from
Amman as the price is lower from the source.
A SWOT analysis was conducted for Alzbedi based on the interview that was conducted by
IWMI (Figure 13).
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An assessment of the agriculture private sector to identify new market actors 34
Figure 12: SWOT analysis of Alzbedi
4.2.1.2. Farmer Foundation
Background
This is a retailer located in Mafraq. The company was established in 1989 by Mr. Taha Abu
Mousa and currently managed by Mr. Mohammad Saif.
Sales and After Sales
The company sells irrigation systems including GR pipes, PC emitters, viro-jet, irrigation fittings
and accessories to farms in Mafraq with areas of 100 dunums. They don’t sell filters or
fertigation systems. The company provides irrigation systems design services rarely, however
they don’t provide other services such as installation of irrigation systems, irrigation problem
solving or after sales services as there is no demand on such services. Their market share is
20% in Mafraq and the average number of customers is 5 per day in the high season.
Advisory Services
The company doesn’t provide irrigation advisory services at farm level, however, they answer
any questions related to irrigation advisory at their shop as they don’t have field staff.
Strengths:
Main retailer in Mafraq
Provide sales, after
sales and advisory
services if requested
Sells mulch and shading
nets
Flexible payment terms
Have business
relationships with
suppliers in Amman
Wide variety of
irrigation parts
Weaknesses:
Not interested in
promoting water
saving technologies
due to their high cost
- Farmers usually ask
for products of lower
prices.
Opportunities:
Willingness to be part of
the project if trained to
convince farmers of the
benefits of water saving
technologies
Threats:
The declining profit in the
AG business would affect
their business
SWOT
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An assessment of the agriculture private sector to identify new market actors 35
Supply Chain
The company obtain irrigation parts from Amman (Adritech, Universal and Alwasael). They
believe the high cost prevents farmers from adopting water saving technologies. Reducing the
cost would enhance the adoption.
Future Perspectives and Willingness to Collaborate with the WIT Project
The company is willing to collaborate with other suppliers in the market (Mais and INDICO)
and with the WIT project.
Access to Finance
Their payment terms include cash only. Bad debt is almost 100,000 JDs and they don’t sell
irrigation systems through banks. The company believes that farmers prefer to purchase
irrigation systems from Amman as the price is lower from the source.
A SWOT analysis was conducted for the Farmers Foundation based on the interview that was
conducted by IWMI (Figure 14).
Figure 13: SWOT analysis of Farmer foundation
Strengths:
Provide sales, after
sales and advisory
services if requested
Sells mulch and shading
nets
Have expertise in
irrigation design
Have established
business relationship
with suppliers in
Amman
Weaknesses:
Inflexible payment
terms
No after sales or
advisory services
Low debt recovery
Opportunities:
Willingness to be part of
the project if trained to
convince farmers of the
benefits of water saving
technologies
Threats:
The declining profit in the
AG business would affect
their business
SWOT
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An assessment of the agriculture private sector to identify new market actors 36
4.2.1.3. Alshawabka
Background
This is a retailer located in Mafraq. The company was established in 2014 by a hydrogeologist
called Fayez Alshawabka.
Sales and After Sales
The company is mainly specialized in metal fittings and connections relevant to the pumps,
pumps and water wells maintenance. They sell GR pipes on request and some types of emitters
including viro jet.
Advisory Services
The company doesn’t provide irrigation advisory services. Their work is limited to pumps
trouble shooting and maintenance.
Supply Chain
The company obtain irrigation parts from Amman (Alwasael). They believe the high cost
prevents farmers from adopting water saving technologies. Reducing the cost and providing
access to finance would enhance the adoption.
Future Perspectives and Willingness to Collaborate with the WIT Project
The company is willing to collaborate with other suppliers in the market and with the WIT
project through providing samples of water saving technologies in their shop.
Access to Finance
Their payment terms include cash and seasonal payments. Bad debt is almost 15k JDs and they
don’t sell any products through banks.
A SWOT analysis was conducted for Alshawabka based on the interview that was conducted
by IWMI (Figure 15).
Figure 14: SWOT analysis of Alshawabka
Strengths:
Sells pipes and emitters
Weaknesses:
His main market is pumps,
assemblies and wells
maintenance
Opportunities:
Can be part of the
project if trained to
convince farmers of the
benefits of water saving
technologies
Threats:
The declining profit in the
AG business would affect
their business
SWOT
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An assessment of the agriculture private sector to identify new market actors 37
4.2.1.4. Alshdefat
This retailer is located in Mafraq. Despite being identified as one of the major retailers in
Mafraq in the findings of farms surveys that was done by ICBA in 2018, this supplier currently
doesn’t sell irrigation parts. He stopped working in irrigation systems one year ago due to low
demand.
4.2.1.5. Zayed Alkhair
This is a retailer located in Mafraq; he doesn’t sell irrigation parts currently due to the low
demand.
4.2.2. Retailers in Azraq
4.2.2.1. Al-aqili:
Background
This is a retailer located in Azraq. The company was established in 1994 by Mr. Abdalla Aqili
who currently manages it.
Sales and After Sales
The company sells irrigation systems including GR pipes, PC emitters, viro-jet, irrigation fittings
and accessories to farms in Azraq with areas of 1000 dunums. They also sell filters and simple
fertigation systems. However, these sales decreased by 90% in the last three years. The
company provide other irrigation services such as design and installation of irrigation systems and irrigation problem solving, however, the demand for such services is low. The company
sees that providing the farmer with well-designed irrigation system based on his farm
conditions and water source capacity would limit the need for after sales services. In case of
any after sales problem, the owner usually solves it over phone. The owner couldn’t provide an
estimation of his market share in Azraq, however, he indicated that his sales have decreased by
90% in the last three years.
Advisory Services
The owner provides irrigation advisory services such irrigation scheduling and the farmers who
usually ask for such services. However, this is limited to questions over the phone or in the
shop; such services do not require farm visits. The owner is interested in learning more about
water saving practices at the farm level as the majority of farmers in Mafraq are keen to save
water and energy.
Supply Chain
The owner obtains irrigation system parts from Amman (he prefers lower prices). He is
interested in promoting better quality irrigation fittings, however, the demand in Azraq is on
low price items, and therefore, items with higher prices may not be profitable.
Future Perspectives and Willingness to Collaborate with the WIT Project
The company is willing to collaborate with other suppliers in the market and with the WIT
project.
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Access to Finance
The payment terms include cash only. Bad debt is almost 50k JDs and the owner doesn’t sell
irrigation systems through banks.
A SWOT analysis was conducted for Aqili based on the interview that was conducted by IWMI
(Figure 16).
Figure 15: SWOT analysis of Aqili
4.2.2.2. Alkarama:
This is a retailer located in Azraq. The owner in the company’s headquarters in Amman was
interviewed. See section 4.1.2. for more details.
5. Summary findings
A total of 17 suppliers and retailers were interviewed in October and November 2019. There
was also additional 5 big suppliers (Mais, INDICO, Rain Bird, Green Tech, Alarabia), however,
these 5 suppliers were interviewed by the Mercy Corps business consultant during the same
period, and therefore, IWMI did not interview them. Collected information was analysed and a
SWOT analysis was conducted for each supplier. The findings of the analysis suggest the
following:
1. The majority of interviewed suppliers have experience in irrigation systems including
manufacturing and sales experience. This excludes a number of suppliers who are not
mainly specialized in irrigation systems, rather other agricultural products such as input
suppliers and agricultural machinery. These suppliers are:
Strengths:
Sells pipes, emitters and
fittings
Well known in Azraq
Provides after sales and
advisory services
Weaknesses:
High price
Opportunities:
Can be part of the project
if trained to convince
farmers of the benefits of
water saving technologies
Threats:
The declining profit in the
AG business would affect
their business
SWOT
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An assessment of the agriculture private sector to identify new market actors 39
Rama: this is a factory specialized in agriculture machinery. As this supplier was
identified by ICBA as a source of irrigation systems in Mafraq. IWMI interviewed
the supplier and he confirmed provides irrigation systems / mainly pipes and
central pivot.
Farmer’s Foundation: this is retailer located in Mafraq. He mainly sells input
suppliers, however, he also sells pipes and emitters, and therefore he was
interviewed by IWMI as he is already based in one of the target areas.
The Agricultural Research Company: this is a supplier located in Amman. He was
identified by one of the interviewed suppliers and he mainly sells input supplies.
This supplier also sells pipes and emitters, therefore, he was interviewed by
IWMI.
Al-jumaira: this is a supplier located in Amman and specialized in landscaping and
input suppliers. This supplier also sells pipes and emitters and he has permanent
irrigation design engineer with 20 years’ experience, therefore he was
interviewed by IWMI.
2. As each supplier was asked to estimate his market share, these estimations may not be
accurate due to potential exaggeration from suppliers’ side. Market share can be better
understood from ICBA’s farmers’ survey report, 2018 as it was estimated based on
interviews with a large sample of farmers.
3. Not all suppliers have experience in “Water Saving Technologies, WDT” such as PC
emitters. However, all of them sell other water saving solutions such as mulch and
shading nets.
4. All suppliers are willing to collaborate with other suppliers in the market.
5. All suppliers provide after sales services if requested by the farmer. However, in the
most of cases this is done verbally over phone.
6. The majority of suppliers believe that there is no demand on advisory services.
However, all of them are willing to provide these services if requested by farmers.
7. There is a common belief that there is no demand on WST due to their high cost.
8. Some suppliers said that if WST will be promoted, there is a need to give farmers free
samples and establish demo sites to test and show the impact of technologies. These
suppliers were defined as suppliers with clear marketing strategy of WST. This group
includes Wasael, Karam, Alshiraa, Aljumaira, Alkurdi, Sikayat Alkhayrat and Arzaq.
9. Some suppliers has working experience with donor funded projects such as Wasael,
Karama, Universal, Shiraa, Sikayat Alkhyrat and Arzaq. One of the suppliers has experience working on international irrigation projects such as Karama.
10. Manufacturers of irrigation pipes and emitters have huge bad debts. These suppliers
currently don’t have good Access to Finance options to avoid creating more bad debts.
Smaller suppliers have more flexible payment terms.
11. As the survey reflects suppliers’ evaluation of their businesses, IWMI will collect
feedback from farmers on each of the suppliers. However, for the final selection of the
suppliers it is recommended that Mercy Corps / AG team hold further discussions with
each of the suppliers for more accurate selection process.
12. There are suppliers who have more potential to provide technical irrigation support and
advisory services such as Sikayat Alkhayrat who has experience in a similar project in
Syria and Aljumaira who has an established irrigation design department.
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An assessment of the agriculture private sector to identify new market actors 40
6. Recommended suppliers
IWMI, in consultation with the AG team, developed a selection criteria to rank the suppliers.
The selection criteria is in line with the project direction and needs. The table below (Table 3)
shows the selection criteria:
Table 3: Suppliers’ selection criteria
Draft suppliers' evaluation matrix Scoring
0=poor/low/not provided
1=Good/normal
2=Excellent
Company background
Experience in irrigation systems
Market share in Jordan
Working experience in WST
Clear marketing strategy of WST
Business collaboration with other local
suppliers
Business collaboration with international
suppliers
Sub total
Sales, after sales and advisory
Advise farmers on best irrigation systems
Able and capable to design different irrigation
systems (they have irrigation engineers or the
use consultant irrigation engineers)
Able to advises Farmers on irrigation filtration
systems based on water quality
After sales services
Able to respond to farmers advisory requests
such as irrigation scheduling
Sub total
IS and A2F
Flexibility in payment terms
Presence of bad debt level
Presence of marketing tools
Sub total
Willingness to partner with WIT
Past experience with development
interventions
Willingness to collaborate with WIT
Farmers feedback (out of 30)
Sub total
GRAND TOTAL
Recommendation (Based on traffic light
system after ranking)
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The selection criteria was applied to the suppliers in Amman to recommend the best of them.
For the retailers, the selection was not applied as there is a limited number of retailers in target
area. IWMI recommends to consider all interviewed retailers to ensure WST are available in
target areas. For the selection detailed ranking results see (Table 4).
Below is a list of the interviewed suppliers ranked from the most recommended to the least
recommended based on their score:
1- Alwasael
2- Karama
3- Universal and Arzaq
4- Aljabali and Alshiraa
5- Sikayat Alkhayrat
6- Aljumaira
7- Alkurdi and Mada
8- Agricultural Research Company
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An assessment of the agriculture private sector to identify new market actors 42
Table 4: Suppliers’ selection detailed results
Company background Al-Wasael Al-Jabali Karama Mada Universal Al-shiraa AL-Jumaira Alkur
di
Rama AG research
company
Sikayat
Alkhayrat
Arzaq
Experience in irrigation systems 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1
Market share in Jordan 2 1 2 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 1
Working experience in WST 2 1 2 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 1
Clear marketing strategy of WST 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 1
Business collaboration with other local suppliers 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1
Business collaboration with international
suppliers
1 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 1
Sub total 9 6 9 4 6 6 6 5 3 2 4 6
Sales, after sales and advisory
Advise farmers on best irrigation systems 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 1
Able and capable to design different irrigation
systems (they have irrigation engineers or the use
consultant irrigation engineers)
2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 0 1 1 1
Able to advises Farmers on irrigation filtration
systems based on water quality
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1
After sales services 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Able to respond to farmers advisory requests
such as irrigation scheduling
1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 1
Sub total 6 5 6 4 5 5 4 4 1 5 5 5
IS and A2F
Flexibility in payment terms 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 1
Presence of bad debt level 2 0 0 0 0 2 2 1 2 0 0 0
Presence of marketing tools 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1
Sub total 3 2 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 2 2
Willingness to partner with WIT
Past experience with development interventions 1 0 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1
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An assessment of the agriculture private sector to identify new market actors 43
Willingness to collaborate with WIT 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Farmers feedback (out of 30)
Sub total 2 1 3 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 2 2
GRAND TOTAL 20 14 19 11 15 14 12 11 6 9 13 15
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7. Recommendations and the way forward
Willingness to partner with the WIT Project
There is good will to collaborate with the WIT Project. The findings of this study indicates that
all interviewed suppliers are willing to collaborate with the WIT Project. However, not all of
them have experience in WST. Furthermore, the vast majority of the suppliers don’t provide
advisory services because farmers do not usually ask for these services. After sales services are
provided based on farmers’ request and usually over the phone, unless otherwise needed.
The need for options to reduce the cost of Water Saving Technologies
One of the findings from the suppliers’ point of view, which is the main barrier for farmers to
adopt WST is the high cost involved. It is therefore important to work on financial solutions to
enhance the adoption of WST. This is an area where Access to Finance to bridge the gap for
increased access to water saving technologies.
Capacity Development opportunities for suppliers
There is a need to train the suppliers on different aspects such as WST marketing,
communication skills, technical training in relation to irrigation systems and irrigation advisory
services. The findings also suggest that the current focus of these suppliers is irrigation systems
sales only, rather than focusing on providing full services to farmers such as the design of
irrigation systems or irrigation advisory services. However, there is a couple of suppliers who
may have more potential to provide designs and irrigation advisory due to their experience in
similar project or because they have full time irrigation engineers.
Suitability Ranking of Suppliers
IWMI has ranked suppliers based on their suitability to partner with the WIT Project. Since the
ranking was based on a very brief survey, we strongly recommend that Mercy Corps further
conducts due diligence process on the highly ranked suppliers. It is essential for the WIT
project to hold more in depth discussions with the suppliers to understand their motives and
potential, and to come up to a mutual agreement on the type of collaboration that is suitable to
the supplier and to the project.
Conclusion
We believe that the highly ranked suppliers have great potential to contribute towards the
success of the WIT Project after due diligence has been conducted. Additional information on
farmer perceptions will also further validate the self-evaluation provided by the interviewed
suppliers and some retailers. Engaging additional agricultural suppliers will enhance both the
success and the sustainability of the WIT Project through a market systems development
approach.
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