Iraq: Government greenlights upcoming winter agriculture plan
Shafaq News – Baghdad
The Iraqi cabinet approved on Tuesday the national winter agriculture plan for the 2025–2026 season, according to an official statement.
The cabinet planned to authorize the cultivation of one million dunams (about 250,000 hectares) using surface water, in addition to 3.5 million dunams approved earlier this year for irrigation with groundwater. It also mandates the use of modern irrigation systems for all wheat crops grown with either surface or underground water, warning that “the Ministry of Trade will not purchase wheat cultivated outside the approved agricultural plan.”
Iraq’s agricultural sector is facing one of its worst water crises in decades, with nearly 60% of irrigated farmland lost to drought, desertification, and declining river levels caused by reduced inflows from neighboring states. Earlier this year, the government’s summer cultivation plan faltered after authorities banned high-consumption crops such as rice due to limited irrigation reserves.
According to the Environmental Performance Index, Iraq ranked 109th globally and fifth among Arab nations in the 2024 Global Agriculture Index, scoring 49.6 out of 100 for environmental sustainability.
Read more: Iraq's agricultural landscape: Overcoming challenges amid water scarcity
