Iraq's northeastern city of Sulaimaniyah in the autonomous Kurdistan region has been experiencing bouts of drought due to a mix of factors including lower rainfall and diversion of inflowing rivers from Iran. AFP
Iraq's northeastern city of Sulaimaniyah in the autonomous Kurdistan region has been experiencing bouts of drought due to a mix of factors including lower rainfall and diversion of inflowing rivers from Iran. AFP
Iraq's northeastern city of Sulaimaniyah in the autonomous Kurdistan region has been experiencing bouts of drought due to a mix of factors including lower rainfall and diversion of inflowing rivers from Iran. AFP
Iraq's northeastern city of Sulaimaniyah in the autonomous Kurdistan region has been experiencing bouts of drought due to a mix of factors including lower rainfall and diversion of inflowing rivers fr

Iraq's farmers watch drought kill 90 per cent of wheat crops


Mina Aldroubi
  • English
  • Arabic

About 25 per cent of Iraq’s farmers have seen almost all their wheat crops fail this year due to drought, a report has found.

Farmers surveyed said they witnessed up to 90 per cent of their wheat crop fail this year as a direct result of water shortages, affecting thousands of lives, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said on Monday.

Due to severe drought conditions across Iraq, farming communities have seen their wheat, vegetable and fruit harvests decline for the second year in a row.

It is known that a combination of bad ownership by local investors, government neglect, corruption and climate change has affected Iraq's agricultural sector over the years.

NRC surveyed a quarter of the 1,341 households across five governorates in Iraq this year and said it estimated more than “90 per cent of wheat failure this season as a direct result of water shortages across those interviewed”.

“We are seeing the continued damage from Iraq’s climate and water crisis,” NRC’s Iraq country director James Munn said in a statement.

“People are witnessing their fertile land and crops vanishing year after year,” Mr Munn said. "The lands that have fed a nation are drying up fast."

The report warned that if conditions continued to cause drastic damage to crops and harvests, the country's "farming communities will be forced from their lands to urban areas in search of alternative sources of income".

One in three families living in areas of Iraq hardest-hit by drought had to reduce the area of land in which they plant, resulting in heavy loss of crops and income.

Iraq's northeastern city of Sulaimaniyah in the autonomous Kurdistan region has been experiencing bouts of drought due to a mix of factors including lower rainfall and diversion of inflowing rivers from Iran. AFP
Iraq's northeastern city of Sulaimaniyah in the autonomous Kurdistan region has been experiencing bouts of drought due to a mix of factors including lower rainfall and diversion of inflowing rivers from Iran. AFP

Four out of 10 said they had harvested less wheat, barley, fruit and vegetables this year compared with last year, said the report.

One of the main problems stems from Iran and Turkey building large dams to solve their own lack of water, diverting it from Iraq in the process.

Iraq has attempted to talk to both neighbours about this issue but co-operation has been patchy.

Iraqi villagers say they have felt the effects of reduced volumes from Iran for years, complaining that it has had a punishing effect on communities downstream, especially during increasingly frequent years of drought.

A combine harvester at the middle of a wheat field harvesting crops in Yousifiyah, Iraq. AP
A combine harvester at the middle of a wheat field harvesting crops in Yousifiyah, Iraq. AP

The NRC has called on the international community to increase "Iraq’s access to climate resilience funding and ramp up diplomatic efforts to ensure fair regional transboundary water flows to the Euphrates and Tigris rivers".

"The Iraqi government should also increase investment in water management and infrastructure development to improve water quantity and quality for farming communities and their future livelihoods."

The Vile

Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah

Director: Majid Al Ansari

Rating: 4/5

Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Fasset%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2019%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Mohammad%20Raafi%20Hossain%2C%20Daniel%20Ahmed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%242.45%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2086%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Pre-series%20B%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Investcorp%2C%20Liberty%20City%20Ventures%2C%20Fatima%20Gobi%20Ventures%2C%20Primal%20Capital%2C%20Wealthwell%20Ventures%2C%20FHS%20Capital%2C%20VN2%20Capital%2C%20local%20family%20offices%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm

Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm

Transmission: 9-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh117,059

Who's who in Yemen conflict

Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government

Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council

Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south

Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory

Evacuations to France hit by controversy
  • Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
  • Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
  • The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
  • Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
  • It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
  • Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
  • Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
AT%20A%20GLANCE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EWindfall%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EAn%20%E2%80%9Cenergy%20profits%20levy%E2%80%9D%20to%20raise%20about%20%C2%A35%20billion%20in%20a%20year.%20The%20temporary%20one-off%20tax%20will%20hit%20oil%20and%20gas%20firms%20by%2025%20per%20cent%20on%20extraordinary%20profits.%20An%2080%20per%20cent%20investment%20allowance%20should%20calm%20Conservative%20nerves%20that%20the%20move%20will%20dent%20North%20Sea%20firms%E2%80%99%20investment%20to%20save%20them%2091p%20for%20every%20%C2%A31%20they%20spend.%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EA%20universal%20grant%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EEnergy%20bills%20discount%2C%20which%20was%20effectively%20a%20%C2%A3200%20loan%2C%20has%20doubled%20to%20a%20%C2%A3400%20discount%20on%20bills%20for%20all%20households%20from%20October%20that%20will%20not%20need%20to%20be%20paid%20back.%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETargeted%20measures%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EMore%20than%20eight%20million%20of%20the%20lowest%20income%20households%20will%20receive%20a%20%C2%A3650%20one-off%20payment.%20It%20will%20apply%20to%20households%20on%20Universal%20Credit%2C%20Tax%20Credits%2C%20Pension%20Credit%20and%20legacy%20benefits.%3Cbr%3ESeparate%20one-off%20payments%20of%20%C2%A3300%20will%20go%20to%20pensioners%20and%20%C2%A3150%20for%20those%20receiving%20disability%20benefits.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
WOMAN AND CHILD

Director: Saeed Roustaee

Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi

Rating: 4/5

New UK refugee system

 

  • A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
  • Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
  • A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
  • To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
  • Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
  • Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
Updated: October 26, 2022, 3:13 PM