Shafaq News – Baghdad
Iraq launched its winter cropping plan as the country heads into another season of low river flows and shrinking water reserves, leaning heavily on groundwater and modern irrigation to sustain key crops.
Deputy Agriculture Minister Mahdi al-Jubouri told Shafaq News the plan is being implemented in two stages: 3.5 million dunams (3,500km2) irrigated through groundwater and advanced systems, followed by one million dunams in irrigated zones using similar technology. The combined 4.5 million dunams (4,500km2) will prioritize wheat and essential vegetables.
Al-Jubouri said recent rainfall brought uneven relief—heavy in the north and west, lighter elsewhere—and “remains insufficient for the first irrigation cycle of wheat,” adding only a limited boost to national reserves. Water levels in the Tigris and Euphrates remain low as Iraq continues to wait for higher releases from Turkiye.
Earlier Monday, the Green Iraq Observatory faulted the government for lacking a clear strategy to capture and use the new rainfall. It listed three urgent priorities: reducing salinity in Basra, refilling reservoirs that have fallen below 4%, and reviving the drought-stricken southern marshes.
The group said this week’s rains slightly lifted Tigris levels but noted the Water Resources Ministry has yet to disclose how it plans to manage the inflows or whether reservoir storage has increased.
Read more: Iraq’s water crisis deepens: Reserves collapse, mismanagement continues