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BAGHDAD (AP) — Salah Chelab crushed a husk of wheat plucked from his sprawling farmland south of Baghdad and inspected its seeds in the palm of 1 hand. They had been a number of grams lighter than he hoped.
“It’s because of the water shortages,” he mentioned, the farm machine roaring behind him, chopping and gathering his yr’s wheat harvest.
Chelab had planted most of his 10 acres (4 hectares) of land, however he was solely in a position to irrigate 1 / 4 of it after the Agriculture Ministry launched strict water quotas in the course of the rising season, he mentioned. The produce he was rising on the remainder of it, he fears, “will die without water.”
At a time when worldwide costs for wheat have soared as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Iraqi farmers say they’re paying the worth for a authorities choice to chop irrigation for agricultural areas by 50%.
The authorities took the step in the face of extreme water shortages arising from excessive temperatures and drought — believed to be fueled by local weather change — and ongoing water extraction by neighboring nations from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. All these elements have closely strained wheat manufacturing.
Wrestling with the water scarcity, Iraq’s authorities has been unable to sort out different long-neglected points.
Desertification has been blamed as an element behind this yr’s relentless spate of sandstorms. At least 10 have hit the nation in the previous few months, protecting cities with a thick blanket of orange mud, grounding flights and sending hundreds to hospitals.
“We need water to solve the problem of desertification, but we also need water to secure our food supplies,” mentioned Essa Fayadh, a senior official on the Environment Ministry. “We don’t have enough for both.”
Iraq depends on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers for almost all of its water wants. Both circulate into Iraq from Turkey and Iran. Those nations have constructed dams which have both blocked or diverted water, creating main shortages in Iraq.
Water Resources Minister Mahdi Rasheed informed The Associated Press that river ranges had been down 60% in comparison with final yr.
For Chelab, much less water has meant a smaller grain dimension and decrease crop yields.
In 2021, Chelab produced 30,000 tons of wheat, the yr earlier than that 32,000, receipts from Trade Ministry silos present. This yr, he expects not more than 10,000.
His crops are each rain-fed and irrigated by way of a channel from the Euphrates. Due to low precipitation ranges, he has needed to depend on the river water in the course of the rising season, he mentioned.
Government officers say change is critical.
The present system has been inefficient and unsustainable for many years. Water shortage is leaving them no selection however to push to modernize antiquated and wasteful farming strategies.
“We have a strategic plan to face drought considering the lack of rain, global warming, and the lack of irrigation coming from neighboring countries as we did not get our share of water entitlements,” mentioned Hamid al-Naif, spokesman on the Agriculture Ministry.
The ministry took measures to plan new sorts of drought-resistant wheat and introduce strategies to extend crop yields.
“We are still dealing with irrigation systems of the 1950s. It has nothing to do with the farmers,” he mentioned. “The state must make it efficient, we must force the farmer to accept it.”
Iraqi farmers have traditionally been closely depending on the state in the manufacturing of meals, a reliance that policymakers and consultants mentioned drains authorities funds.
The Agriculture Ministry helps farmers by offering every part from harvesting instruments, seeds, fertilizers and pesticides at a sponsored charge or without spending a dime. Water diverted from rivers for irrigation is given for gratis. The Trade Ministry then shops or buys produce from farmers and distributes it to markets.
Wheat is a key strategic crop, accounting for 70% of whole cereal manufacturing in the nation.
Planting begins in October and harvest usually begins in April and extends to June in some areas. Last yr, the Agriculture Ministry slashed subsidies for fertilizers, seeds and pesticides, a transfer that has angered farmers.
Local demand for the staple is between 5-6 million tons a yr. But native manufacturing is shrinking with every passing yr. In 2021, Iraq produced 4.2 million tons of wheat, in keeping with the Agriculture Ministry. In 2020, it was 6.2 million tons.
“Today we might get 2.5 million tons at best,” mentioned al-Naif. That would require Iraq to drive up imports.
Most of the wheat harvest is often bought to the Trade Ministry. In an indication of the low harvest, thus far there are at the moment solely 373,000 tons of wheat accessible in Trade Ministry storehouses, al-Naif mentioned.
To meet calls for amid the current world disaster in the grain market, the federal government lately modified a coverage to permit all Iraqi farmers to promote their produce to the Trade Ministry silos. Previously, this was restricted to farmers who operated throughout the authorities plan.
Back in Chelab’s farm, the wheat is able to be transported to the silo.
“It’s true we need to develop ourselves,” he mentioned. “But the change should be gradual, not immediate.”
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