Mithaq Abdul-Hussein, technical undersecretary for the agriculture ministry, told the Iraqi News Agency that the project focuses on “two main tracks.” First, “rationalize water consumption using subsidized irrigation technologies, increase its use and develop smart agriculture fields,” and second, “increasing varieties and seeds resistant to heat and drought and developing research in the field of fodder and livestock cultivation."
He added that the ministry is “operating with international organizations to introduce smart and effective irrigation systems to reduce water consumption by up to 40 percent.”
GCF, established in 2010, is a UN-affiliated initiative that finances climate-related projects in developing countries with backing from UN member states. In May, it approved a $1.3 billion climate program for Iraq that includes 18 projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and limiting the impacts of climate change across the country.
The program builds on a $39 million project approved by the GCF in October 2024 to strengthen climate resilience among vulnerable agricultural communities. That project, implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), aimed to improve the livelihoods of two million Iraqis through better water management, modern irrigation systems, and renewable energy solutions.
The UN’s Global Environment Outlook 6 (GEO-6) ranked Iraq as the fifth most vulnerable country globally to reduced water availability and extreme temperatures, based on data from 2020 to 2021.
Iraq is facing a severe water shortage this year because of reduced precipitation, higher temperatures, water mismanagement, and upstream dams in neighboring countries.
In early July, Turkey pledged to increase water releases into the Tigris and Euphrates rivers - which Iraq heavily relies on - by 420 cubic meters per second following a meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iraqi Parliament Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani.
However, despite Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani ordering the monitoring of water flows “entering northern Iraq across the borders,” officials have reported that Turkey has not committed to releasing the agreed-upon inflows.
The World Resources Institute places Iraq among 25 countries that face extreme water stress, meaning it is using over 80 percent of its available water supply and is at risk of running out of water in the event of a short-term drought.
