FAO holds agricultural forum in Babylon on World Food Day

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Under the auspices of the Ministry of Agriculture, the World Food Day was celebrated jointly with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Iraq at Al-Mustaqbal University College in Babylon governorate as part of the Future Forum for Sustainable Agriculture event, according to a press statement issued by the FAO.

Under the slogan ‘Sustainable Rural Agricultural Development, the Way to Achieving Food and Eradicating Poverty,’ the event was attended by the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Mahdi Sahar Al-Jubouri, the Dean of the Faculty of Al-Mustaqbal University, Hassan Shaker Magdy, FAO Iraq Representative, Salah El-Hajj Hassan and other officials.

The event addressed the food security situation in Iraq and the world and attendees visited the exhibition of locally produced agricultural products in Iraq within the University College.

“From 2008 to 2018, globally, agriculture, including crops, livestock, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture, absorbed 26 percent of the overall impact caused by medium-to-large scale disasters and Iraq is one of the country most affected,” Hassan stated.

“High salinity and drought are a serious threat to Iraq’s ecosystem in the south, especially the marshes. The ancient Mesopotamia, the cradle of human civilization where farmers depended for thousands of years on fishing and raising buffaloes in the fertile aquatic marshes, is under the threat of water scarcity and the deterioration of its quality; we need to act jointly to address these challenges,” Hassan added.

Al-Jubouri indicated that there is a significant decline in the cultivated areas due to a shortage water revenue, according to the statement.

Al-Jubouri stressed the continuation of work and negotiations to reach a joint agreement that guarantees equitable water releases for Iraq and adopt efficient agricultural strategies to ensure food security by supporting farmers, the statement added.