Iraq Urged to Adopt Agricultural Integration Strategy to Tackle Water Crisis

Iraq has been urged to shift to modern irrigation and a broader agricultural transformation as water shortages and climate change intensify pressure on the country’s farming sector. The deepening crisis, driven by reduced inflows from neighboring countries, is putting food security at risk and has renewed calls for a new agricultural strategy. Former Parliament Agriculture and Water Committee member Thair al-Jubouri said Iraq should adopt a "Tarımsal Entegrasyon Stratejisi" to confront the crisis. He argued that delivering modern irrigation systems to farmers at low cost or free of charge would prevent tens of thousands of producers from losing their jobs and would raise national output. Al-Jubouri said traditional irrigation methods waste about 70% of water, making the transition to modern systems essential. He added that previous government initiatives were not sufficient to address the scale of the problem. The call goes beyond irrigation technology and extends to modernizing Iraq’s agricultural economy. That includes changing crop patterns in line with market demand and establishing investment companies to manage the full chain from production to export. Those measures are being presented as a way to reduce Iraq’s dependence on oil while increasing export potential to neighboring countries. The chronic water crisis and expanding desertification, observers say, leave drip and sprinkler systems as the only sustainable option for future production.