Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq’s cultivated area rises by five billion square meters during the winter rainy season to about 37.5 billion square meters, Eco Iraq observatory said on Saturday.

The observatory put Iraq’s land suitable for cultivation at approximately 70 billion square meters, with 32.5 billion square meters currently in agricultural use, leaving more than half unused.

Rain-fed farmland accounts for about 10 billion square meters, expanding to 15 billion during winter because of rainfall. Another 22.5 billion square meters depend on rivers and irrigation networks, with Wasit among the provinces most reliant on irrigated agriculture, the observatory added.

Read more: Salinity and drought ravage Iraq’s historic farmlands

Rainfall also supported the previous growing season. In its September 1 assessment, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization said improved rainfall between December 2025 and April 2026 replenished soil moisture, raised water levels in irrigation reservoirs and supported crop yields, particularly in northern Iraq. Conditions remained poor in some southern and southeastern areas, where the government reduced the area irrigated with surface water by 50% to conserve scarce supplies.

1 Iraqi dunam = 2,500 square meters