Agriculture photographer helps Jordanian blue tea reach global markets

AMMAN — Agricultural photography is helping small-scale farmers export high-end produce to foreign markets. 

Suhaib Ayyad, a 27-year-old agricultural engineer, uses his photography skills to help farmers, who often lack the necessary technical skills, market their produce and access international markets. 

Ayyad helped one small-scale blue tea farmer, Rateb Abu Dayyeh, to export his products internationally. Abu Dayyeh’s products, grown the Ramtha district in Irbid, now reach Gulf markets, particularly Saudi Arabia. 

Ayyad photographed Abu Dayyeh’s blue tea flowers and posted them on his social media account, reaching his tens of thousands of followers across Europe, the GCC and North America, Ayyad said. 

“When I first started my journey, I knew for a fact that Jordanian farms’ produce is of very good quality and high standards,” Ayyad told The Jordan Times on Saturday. 

Ayyad began his photography journey six years ago, when he took photos of different produce and published them on social media, initially on Twitter. 

He does not charge farmers for marketing their produce. “In fact, I only do it because I want to support local farmers,” Ayyad stated.

“I want to maximise farmers’ profits by cutting out the middleman,” Ayyad added. 

Through his social media account, importers get in touch directly with the farmers. “All profits will be directed to local farmers,” said Ayyad.

He said that one of his success stories was marketing for Jordanian blue tea. 

“Blue tea is originated from butterfly-pea flowers,” Ayyad stated. 

He added that the tea is not processed at all. In fact, the tea is made by diluting a fresh or a sun-dried flower in hot water. “Some people add lemon juice to the tea for more nutritious value,” said Ayyad. 

“Adding lemon juice to the tea changes the pH level of the drink, making it change colour from deep blue to purple”, Ayyad added. 

He stated that blue tea is believed to have detox and weight loss benefits. Additionally, it is caffeine-free and a good alternative to tea or coffee. “Blue tea is inexpensive at all, and is commonly used for high-blood pressure patients and high sugar level patients as well,” said Ayyad. 

He also uses his account to advertise for many other local produces such as avocado, thyme, cardamom and famous Jordanian dates.

Photographing live produce can be a challenging thing to do, given the necessity of capturing on camera the essence of what makes fresh fruits and vegetables so appealing to the human eye, he said.

“Fruits and veggies from local farmers are organic and look amazing on camera,” Ayyad said.