Iraq is facing the biggest agricultural crisis in its modern history

Iraq is facing one of the most severe agricultural and livestock crises in its recent history. According to local publication Al Araby, the situation is rapidly deteriorating: massive livestock deaths are being caused by increasing water shortages, primarily due to a sharp reduction in the flow of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Thousands of livestock have died due to a lack of feed and dried-up pastures. In the southern regions, fish stocks on commercial farms have declined by 60%, and cultivated land by 50%, according to local estimates. The Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources reported that water inflows from upstream countries have significantly decreased, leading to the almost complete drying of marshes in the provinces of Dhi Qar, Muthanna, and Basra. “Vast areas have been turned into barren lands, leading to the mass death of buffalo, fish, and poultry,” the statement noted. The consequences have already caused a large-scale social crisis: farmers in Muthanna, Di Qara, and ...