Shafaq News- Diyala

Wheat production in Iraq’s Diyala has dropped by 50–55% this season after severe water shortages forced authorities to reduce cultivated areas across the province, local agricultural officials said on Wednesday.

Director General of Diyala Agriculture Directorate Iyad Al-Jubouri told Shafaq News that severe water shortages at the start of the season forced authorities to reduce the areas allocated for wheat cultivation.

While many farmers struggled to secure sufficient water quotas to irrigate their farmland, thousands relied on rainfall, which helped improve production during the latter part of the season.

According to Al-Jubouri, cultivated areas inside and outside the official agricultural plan exceeded 300,000 dunams (about 30,000 hectares), while the expected marketed production would surpass 200,000 tons, quantities he said would achieve self-sufficiency in the province.

Read more: Rooted in soil: An Iraqi farmer holds on as the land changes

Earlier this month, wheat harvest season began in Diyala, Karbala, Najaf, and Basra. In its 2025 annual report, the International Grains Council forecast Iraq’s 2026 wheat crop at 5 million tons, down from 6.3 million the previous year, while imports are expected to rise to 2.1 million tons from 1.5 million in 2025.

Read more: Iraq's farmers fed the state. Now they're waiting to be paid.