Iraqi wheat production will decrease in 2022: Agriculture Minister

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture announced on Tuesday that the country will produce approximately 500,000 tons less wheat than it did in 2021. 

Iraq is expected to produce 3 million tons of wheat this year, Iraqi Minister of Agriculture Muhammad Al-Khafaji told the state-run Iraqi News Agency on Tuesday. He did not specify what’s behind this decrease. 

Al-Khafaji also noted that Iraq’s present wheat reserves, stored in silos, will only last three months. 

Iraq is working on increasing wheat production in the country to bolster its self-sufficiency and reduce its heavy reliance on imports. 

The United Nations ranks Iraq as the fifth-most vulnerable country to the adverse effects of climate change. Iraq recently endured extreme weather events, droughts, increased salinization, low precipitation, and increased evaporation of its waters. 

Climate change also impacts food security since it affects soil and agriculture. 

One in two families in the areas affected by droughts in Iraq require food assistance since production has been reduced due to low rainfall and mismanagement of the water systems necessary to grow food. 

Crop failures are another issue that Iraqi wheat and barley farmers have recently faced as a result of climate change and other factors.