Iraqi planting area reduced by 50% due to water scarcity
Agricultural land suffering from water scarcity in Iraq. Photo: Reuters
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources revealed on Wednesday that water scarcity caused 50 percent reduction in the planting area in Iraq, according a statement of the National Center for Water Resources Management cited by The Iraqi News Agency (INA).
The Director of National Center for Water Resources Management, Hatem Hamid, explained that the planting area has been reduced by 50 percent because of water scarcity.
Hamid elaborated that the Ministry of Water Resources is trying to meet the country’s needs of water through the available storage according to the strategy dealing with drought prepared in 2014.
Hamid also explained that the priority has been given to meet the needs of drinking water, orchards and river environment, and then the agriculture sector and marshlands.
Hamid considered the decline in water levels a normal result of the reduced water resources for the third year in a row.
The Iraqi Ministries of Agriculture and Water Resources decided last year that areas planned for cultivation in the winter season is reduced by 50 percent compared to the year before because of the lack of water sources, according to Almayadeen news.
In 2021, the ministries revealed that they approved the winter agricultural plan, with an area of 2.5 million acres, and a 50 percent reduction compared to 2020 due to water scarcity, according to INA.