Mafraq , Jordan ( CNN ) -- In the Mafraq region of northern Jordan , it 's not unusual to witness a shepherd guide his flock along a busy highway . This is Bedouin country after all , roughly two hours drive from the capital Amman and just a stone 's throw from the Syrian border . These days , farmers on this land share tales of struggle . The arteries of their work , roads through Syria onto Turkey , have been cut off by the vicious fighting amongst their northern neighbors . `` It is difficult to go on with the business , '' said Muslih Ajal Massaeed , a Jordanian Wool Distributor . `` At the moment we ca n't do anything . We gather wool and stop until Allah can send us a buyer . '' Three years into Syria 's civil war , these prayers have yet to be answered . Many tons of sheep 's wool remains piled up in Massaeed 's distribution yard rotting with no place to go . Without safe passage through Syria the wool can not make it to market in Turkey . Jordanians say Romanian farmers instead are filling the void in their stead . Eventually , due to the cost of storage , those in Mafraq say their unexportable supply may have to be burned . `` Of course the Syrian border is very important to us , '' Massaed continued . `` It was the source of our income to Turkey and we were pleased and there was business flow . '' Refugee crisis . It 's not only along the border that frustrations are being felt . Tribal leaders like Nimer Al Fawwaz speak of Syrian refugees now making up nearly one out of every four residents of nearby towns . This creates even more tensions for the work that is available . `` The Syrians took over so many jobs in the commercial sector , tailoring and farming , especially cheap wages , working 10 to 15 hours a day , '' said Al Fawwaz . With little in the way of manufacturing in the rural areas , the government has encouraged vegetable farming . But with no certainty of getting goods through Syria and now Iraq , buyers in the wealthier Gulf states are looking elsewhere . Farmers say they are fetching just one fifth the value of their tomatoes compared to the last two years . `` This year it ( the tomato price ) changed completely to half a dinar ( $ 0.70 ) a kilo , '' explained vegetable grower Abdulla Abu Saleh . `` I do n't know what it will cover . The labor or insurance or spending on the farm or planting soil . It is expensive and it is ( a ) major negative impact on all farmers , '' he added . State support . Agriculture is still a nascent industry here and growers complain there is no government help or a farming cooperative to help with distribution . Mohamed Khair , a farm owner complained that `` a farmer can not be a farmer and a supplier . There should be a market regulator that controls the production with the help of the government . '' For Abu Saleh , such concerns lead him to question the wisdom of continuing to grow vegetables if he can not sell them . `` We already have been affected so hard and we might not produce after this year . ( There is ) no demand and all the money we consumed is such a waste . '' With the government hindered by the rising cost of providing for refugees , the sought after financial relief is likely to remain in short supply .
Farmers in Jordan 's Mafraq region impacted heavily by conflict in Syria . Goods previously sent to to Turkey via Syria now remain unused and unsold . Influx of refugees has also increased tension with local population .