35,000 donums allocated for rice cultivation in Missan

MISSAN / IraqiNews.com: Some 35,000 donums north of the city of al-Amara were allocated to cultivate rice during the summer season due to start mid-June, the Missan agriculture department chief said on Thursday. “The ministry, as part of its plan to grow summer crops, allocated today (June 11) 35,000 donums in the northern areas of al-Amara city for the cultivation of rice,” Nasser Manati told IraqiNews.com news agency. One Iraqi donum equals 2500 square meters. “The objective behind setting that space is the scarcity of water that reaches the province from the river Tigris and also to guarantee the water quota reaching Basra province,” he said. “The agricultural plan for the past season had envisaged the cultivation of 275,000 donums with summer crops of rice, maize, sesame and vegetables,” Manati noted. Amara, the capital city of Missan province, lies 390 km south of Baghdad. AmR (P) 1