Farmers in Dhi Qar Suffer a Severe Water Shortage
The situation has left many farmers without their main source of income and pushed some families to consider leaving their ancestral lands in search of better conditions.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – Farmers in Iraq’s southern Dhi Qar province are bearing the brunt of a worsening water crisis, as agricultural activity comes to a complete halt this summer due to a drastic reduction in water supply.
The Dhi Qar Directorate of Water Resources confirmed that no summer planting will take place this season. The situation has left many farmers without their main source of income and pushed some families to consider leaving their ancestral lands in search of better conditions.
“The water sources have taken over the water pipes,” said Faleeh Hassan, a local farmer. “We farmers rely on God and the water pipes. Now that there’s no water, people are migrating from the surrounding cities. There is no future here without water.”
His concerns were echoed by another farmer, Jawad Alzeer, who said, “If the water pipes don’t carry water from the rivers, where should the farmer go? If there is no water, there is no agriculture. We’re holding pipes, but they’re dry.”
In response to the crisis, provincial authorities have launched a campaign to remove unauthorized agricultural water pipes from the Euphrates, Gharraf, and their tributaries. “Each village or settlement will be allowed only one pipe for water extraction,” said Hashim Mohbis Qasim, Director of Water Resources in Dhi Qar. “This is part of an effort to manage water use fairly and avoid further depletion of limited resources. Power cuts will also be enforced to prevent misuse.”
But for farmers who depend on irrigation to survive, the measures bring little relief. Many say they feel abandoned, with no compensation, alternative employment, or clear plan to support their families.
The water shortage in Dhi Qar is part of a broader crisis affecting much of southern Iraq, where decades of poor water management, upstream damming, and climate change have devastated agriculture—once the backbone of rural life. Without urgent national intervention, farmers warn that Dhi Qar could soon see a wave of displacement and irreversible damage to its agricultural heritage.
