Iraq will provide free fodder to marshland farmers

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture announced on Tuesday that the government has a plan to provide free animal fodder (hay and straw) to cattle farmers in the southern provinces' marshlands who are suffering as a result of reduced water supplies. 

The Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture signed an agreement with the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for this project, Saleh Hadi, the Director of Agriculture for Dhi Qar in Nasiriyah, told state media on Tuesday. 

Iraq is the fifth-most vulnerable country in the world to the adverse effects of climate change, according to a study by the United Nations. Droughts, low precipitation, increased salinization, extreme weathers are some of these climate change-related effects that Iraq has already begun to experience in recent years.

The water buffalos that Iraq's southern provinces are known for have suffered substantially from the reduced water flow from upstream countries Turkey and Iran. 

The ministry's decision aims to mitigate the challenging situation the farmers are facing due to depleted water supplies, the official added. 

At least 37 percent of households that the Norwegian Refugee Council interviewed in 2021 had lost cattle due to "insufficient water, inadequate feed or disease."

The Ministry of Agriculture on Tuesday also said that it expects to produce approximately 500,000 fewer tons of wheat in 2022 than it did in 2021.