Drought drives hungry birds to destroy Kirkuk crops

DAQUQ, Iraq — Although Hemin Shukir personally managed to dodge severe drought this year, most of his crops have been destroyed by hungry birds.

"As you see, sparrows have entirely eaten up this crop," Shukir, a Kurdish farmer from the village of Yangija, south of Kirkuk, told Rudaw on Monday.

A lack of rainfall has led to severe drought across Iraq, forcing many farmers to leave their farmlands uncultivated, sending wild animals and birds desperate for food.

“There is a drought this year, which has damaged a lot of our land,” said farmer Edris Othman 

Local authorities have already declared a drought. 

“We are sending our report to the Ministry of Agriculture. We highlight the scale of damage our farmlands have seen, from fire, flash floods and other natural disasters, as well as bird attacks. The current bird attacks have damaged this year's crops,” said Zuhair Ali, head of Kirkuk’s Agriculture department.

Iraq is the world's fifth-most vulnerable nation to the effects of climate change, including water and food insecurity, according to the UN.

After years of conflict and mired in political and economic crises, it is also one of the least prepared to deal with the emergency.

Translation by Zhelwan Zeyad Wali