Diwaniyah farmers abandon agriculture amid water scarcity
DIWANIYAH, Iraq - Agriculture and livestock in the southern Iraqi province of Diwaniyah are suffering from drought amid a dramatic plummet in river water levels.
Abu Sajjad al-Khazali, a former farmer, sought greener pastures to find a livelihood for his family, a growing trend among farmers in and around Diwaniyah as the rivers of the region dry up, leaving the land drought-ridden.
“Agriculture used to be a took to make citizens’ ends meet. We used to grow vegetables, but now we buy vegetables in the markets, such as okra. We buy a kilogram for 3,000 to 4,000 dinars,” Khazali told Rudaw on Monday.
Dozens of villages in the province suffer from water scarcity, and most of the water stations have stopped due to drought, in addition to environmental pollution on the river banks.
“There is no cultivation at all, and the reason is the lack of water, a fatal scarcity. This has affected people,” Khazali complained.
Water levels in the Euphrates and Tigris rivers - shared by Iraq, Syria, and Turkey - have dropped considerably in recent years. In the latest stark warning of the threats a heating climate poses to the country, a report by Iraq’s Ministry of Water Resources towards the end of last year predicted that unless urgent action is taken to combat declining water levels, Iraq’s two main rivers will be entirely dry by 2040.
Iraq is the fifth-most vulnerable nation in the world to the effects of climate change, including water and food insecurity, according to the UN.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has long warned that the water available in Iraq is set to decrease by around 20 percent by 2025, threatening the long-term stability of Iraq’s agriculture and industry.
The issue is exacerbated by the Turkish and Iranian damming of rivers that flow into Iraq, cutting off the increasingly dry nation from much-needed water relief. Ankara has built a mega dam on the Tigris River.
Abu Sajjad al-Khazali, a former farmer, sought greener pastures to find a livelihood for his family, a growing trend among farmers in and around Diwaniyah as the rivers of the region dry up, leaving the land drought-ridden.
“Agriculture used to be a took to make citizens’ ends meet. We used to grow vegetables, but now we buy vegetables in the markets, such as okra. We buy a kilogram for 3,000 to 4,000 dinars,” Khazali told Rudaw on Monday.
Dozens of villages in the province suffer from water scarcity, and most of the water stations have stopped due to drought, in addition to environmental pollution on the river banks.
“There is no cultivation at all, and the reason is the lack of water, a fatal scarcity. This has affected people,” Khazali complained.
Water levels in the Euphrates and Tigris rivers - shared by Iraq, Syria, and Turkey - have dropped considerably in recent years. In the latest stark warning of the threats a heating climate poses to the country, a report by Iraq’s Ministry of Water Resources towards the end of last year predicted that unless urgent action is taken to combat declining water levels, Iraq’s two main rivers will be entirely dry by 2040.
Iraq is the fifth-most vulnerable nation in the world to the effects of climate change, including water and food insecurity, according to the UN.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has long warned that the water available in Iraq is set to decrease by around 20 percent by 2025, threatening the long-term stability of Iraq’s agriculture and industry.
The issue is exacerbated by the Turkish and Iranian damming of rivers that flow into Iraq, cutting off the increasingly dry nation from much-needed water relief. Ankara has built a mega dam on the Tigris River.