FEATURE-Iraq rice yield up as water, power supplies grow



IRAQ-GRAINS/HARVEST (FEATURE, PIX, TV)
* Rice yield expected to rise this year

* Crop boosted by increased water supplies

* Iraq is one of world's largest grain importers

By Khalid al-Ansary

MESHKHAB, Iraq, Dec 20 (Reuters) - The yellow fields on the banks of the Euphrates are producing higher yields of aromatic Iraqi No. 1 rice this year thanks to increased water supplies and enough electricity to run irrigation pumps.

Standing over a massive pile of unhusked brown rice, farmer Adil Hassan tosses his crop into the air with a hand shovel to separate the chaff and expose the rice to the sun to dry.

Aided by government-subsidised fertilizer and insecticides, Iraqi farmers like Hassan are having some success increasing production along the Euphrates south of Baghdad in an area that was the heart of the ancient world's Fertile Crescent.

Government officials are projecting an 11 percent increase in rice yield per hectare from this year's harvest over last, and 18 percent better than two years ago.

"Our problem is water and electricity every year," said Hassan, 29, as his four small children played nearby. "When there is water, there is no electricity ... we can't water all the planted land. Or vice versa.

"The yield is much better this year than last because of the availability of water and fertilizer," Hassan said recently in the midst of the yearly harvest in the area of Meshkhab.

Iraq is one of the world's top 10 importers of rice and wheat, which are purchased by the government to supply a huge food rationing programme held over from the Saddam Hussein era.

Decades ago, Iraq's bread basket was a leading producer. It exported wheat and barley and was, at one time, the world's top exporter of dates.

But entrenched problems with soil salinity, poor irrigation and in the last three years, a severe drought, combined to make it a major buyer on world markets.

Encouraged by the high prices offered by the government, farmers like Hassan, whose families have worked the land in the Euphrates basin for generations, are boosting planted acreage and yield in the Najaf region south of Baghdad.

"Every season the planted acreage increases because the prices are good and this encourages the farmer to increase the planted acreage," said Hakim Takleef, a spokesman for the Najaf agricultural department. "In addition, the government subsidises the agricultural requirements needed."

PRODUCTIVITY BOOST

The government offers its farmers $583 per tonne for rice, far more than the $420-$430 per tonne it pays for imported rice on world markets.

The Iraqi grain board expects farmers to sell the government between 150,000 and 175,000 tonnes of rice this year, a big improvement over last year's harvest of 119,000 tonnes but still far from meeting the country's growing needs.

Iraq consumes 1.2 million tonnes annually, according to government figures.

The government has consolidated the rice crop in three central provinces, Najaf, Diwaniya and Wassit, allowing it to direct more water to fewer fields.

As a result, planted acreage of rice nationwide has fallen in the last three years, according to government figures, from about 85,000 hectares in 2008 to around 48,000 this year.

Yield has gone up each of those years, from about 2,900 kg per hectare in 2008 to a projected 3,460 kg this year, officials said.

Farming is one of Iraq's biggest employers but contributes less than 3 percent to state revenue, far behind the oil sector, which accounts for 95 percent of the federal budget.

The sector gets little government investment as Iraq focuses on tapping its vast oil reserves for the billions of dollars it needs to rebuild after years of war and economic sanctions.

Rice farmers saw some relief this year from a crippling three-year drought as the ministry of water resources captured winter rain and snow in reservoirs and put the extra supplies to work this summer.

At the same time, Iraq's feeble electrical grid is supplying a bit more power, allowing farmers to run pumps to carry water from canals to the fields.

Future yield gains for Iraq's farmers, however, may be limited by factors out of Iraq's control.

As an example, Turkey's controversial Ilisu hydroelectric project, which would dam the Tigris in Iraq's neighbour to the north, could limit the flow of water to Iraq.

Hassan is hopeful he will be able to continue to boost the yield in his fields but says he needs the government's help.

"If, in the coming years, the government increases the subsidies of fertilizers, insecticides, water supplies, and electricity, the yield will be higher," he said. "We (also) hope the government will increase the purchase price, because the end benefit out of this huge piece of land is very little." (Editing by Jim Loney)


http://www.forexyard.com/en/news/FEATURE-Iraq-rice-yield-up-as-water-power-supplies-grow-2010-12-20T121926Z

so lets make some calculations.

an "average" small farm is about 30 hectares. Each hectare yield 3.5 tonnes of rice, the government pays $583 for every tonne. Government also gives free fertiliser, pumps, electricity to the farmer and picks up the rice.

so the farmer earns:
30x3.5x$583 = $61k per annum from a small farm managable by 2-3 people (family members), about $5000 per month.

Contrast that with the farmer moving to baghdad, and doing menial jobs for about $300-$400 per month, the only thing that surprises me is that no one is leaving baghdad to move into farming...

then comes the next surprise. why are people paying $10-$15k per person to smugglers to take them to europe/australia just so they end up living on social security or doing menial jobs for minimum wage??

so lets make some calculations.

an "average" small farm is about 30 hectares. Each hectare yield 3.5 tonnes of rice, the government pays $583 for every tonne. Government also gives free fertiliser, pumps, electricity to the farmer and picks up the rice.

so the farmer earns:
30x3.5x$583 = $61k per annum from a small farm managable by 2-3 people (family members), about $5000 per month.

Contrast that with the farmer moving to baghdad, and doing menial jobs for about $300-$400 per month, the only thing that surprises me is that no one is leaving baghdad to move into farming...

then comes the next surprise. why are people paying $10-$15k per person to smugglers to take them to europe/australia just so they end up living on social security or doing menial jobs for minimum wage??

I know a lot of kurds from Europe that bought plots of land and got money of the government to set up a farm.. see you need money to make money, I guess some people can't afford the land as I know that land can be pretty expensive and the people that need jobs just can't afford it. The problem is the government only helps you once you got the land.

Iraq could meet half of wheat demand in 2011

Increased rainfall could help Iraq meet half of the country's needs for wheat in 2011, a deputy agriculture minister said.

Iraq, one of the world's biggest grain importers, will need about 4.5 million tonnes of wheat this year, the official, Subhi al-Jumaily, told Reuters.

'We could reach 50 per cent of Iraq's needs for wheat,' al-Jumaily said, citing higher rainfall for the optimistic outlook.

'It is an indication that the coming season will be good in comparison to the drought years Iraq has gone through,' he said. 'It's a reason for optimism, knowing that the rains have covered all parts of Iraq.'

Iraq's farmers sold 1.866 million tonnes of wheat to the government grain board in 2009/2010, up from 1.25 million tonnes the previous season, officials said last year.

Iraq's population of around 30 million consumes at least 4.5 million tonnes of wheat and one million tonnes of rice annually.

Decades of war, sanctions and strife have decimated Iraq's agricultural sector, which has gone from being an important grain producer to a leading importer. Much of the imported wheat and rice goes to feed a huge public food ration programme.

http://www.tradearabia.com/news/AGRI_192928.html

Najaf Council has given an investment licence for an ostrich farm.

http://investnajaf.com/ar/thumbnail.php?file=lisence/39.jpg&size=article_medium

^^ Seriously, ostrich meat is pretty tasty.

:lol: I wasn't expecting that ! but great idea!

Iraq plans $700M water plan to grow more wheat
Mar 18, 2011 5:30 PM - 0 comments TEXT SIZE By: Khalid al-Ansary
BAGHDAD | REUTERS
Crops, Markets, Weather
Major wheat importer Iraq plans to start an eight-year, US$700 million irrigation programme this year, part of a plan to increase wheat production by more than 60 per cent to three million tonnes.

Popular anger at rising food prices has been an explosive ingredient in the mix of grievances that triggered the fall of leaders in Egypt and Tunisia, and is now putting the heat on authorities in Iraq and other Arab countries.

Iraq's population of around 30 million consumes at least 4.5 million tonnes of wheat annually, with much of its imported wheat and rice going towards a huge public food ration programme. It produced 1.86 million tonnes of wheat last year.

Deputy agriculture minister Ghazi al-Abboudi said the plan included the installation of irrigation systems across two million acres of land and added 1.875 million acres of wheat would be planted.

"God willing the project will start by the last quarter of this year... (and wheat) production will be at three million tonnes (by 2019)," Abboudi told Reuters in an interview, adding the project was also aimed at helping reduce the amount of water used to irrigate Iraq's lands.

Soft loans

Decades ago, Iraq's bread basket was a leading producer, but years of war, sanctions and neglect have hit the agriculture sector hard. A chronic water shortage and severe drought in recent years have also hurt production.

Abboudi said the ministry had set aside 40 billion Iraqi dinars (US$34 million) to buy 3,000 sprinklers for the project and that it had recently approved a tender to buy around 500 irrigation systems from European and U.S. firms.

Iraq complains that hydroelectric dams and irrigation in Turkey, Iran and Syria have reduced water flow in its main rivers, the Euphrates and the Tigris.

Investment in dilapidated infrastructure like water pumps is vital for the agriculture and oil sectors, as well as a broader reconstruction effort eight years after a U.S.-led invasion.

To encourage investment in the agriculture industry, Iraq's government had set up a $500 million a year fund from the federal government budget to be given as soft loans, without interest, to farmers and investors, Abboudi said.

"The efforts of the agricultural initiative fund are focused on all crops but the priority is for the strategic crops (wheat and rice)," Abboudi said.

He said 84 billion Iraqi dinars had also been set aside this year to give interest-free soft loans to livestock farmers and investors looking to develop the agriculture industry.

Farming is Iraq's largest employer, but it trails far behind the all-important oil sector in terms of economic output and very little investment has been put into the industry so far.

^^ read this today, it seems that they are aiming too low ! 3 million Tonnes by 2019 is no where enough for self sufficiency.. that's not even enough for today's population let alone for 2019 :S

The Iraqi Agriculture Ministry revealed Sunday that Iraq is producing 50% of the wheat the country requires.
The ministry’s spokesman, Karim al-Tamimi, told AKnews, “Iraq currently produces only two million tonnes of wheat due to lack of water needed for cultivation as well as the migration of many farmers from villages to cities.”
“The Ministry of Agriculture is working to develop a plan to organize the usage of water sprinklers and irrigation which will improve the rate of production of wheat during the next season.”
Specialists in water resources affairs stated that Iraq is one of the most wasteful countries in terms of water usage because of its old irrigation mechanisms.
The Ministry of Water Resources had confirmed that the main obstacle that hinders strategic projects is financial allocations that do not fit with the plans and projects developed by the ministry. In December it started preparing a strategic study in collaboration with global companies to determine the future of water in Iraq until 2044.
The availability of water in Iraq is about 50 billion cubic meters, 60% of which from Tigris River and the rest from Euphrates, as well as energy storage in dams and tanks totalling 149 billion cubic meters, while its water needs are expected to reach about 77 billion cubic meters by 2015.
Despite the rainfall over the past few days, Iraq still suffers from drought due to lack of rainfall for more than two years, in addition to the low water levels in rivers within Iraq, particularly from the Tigris and Euphrates.
Iraq accuses Turkey and Syria of being responsible for low water levels in rivers entering it because of their irrigation and agricultural project.
The Ministry of Water Resources stressed on the need to convert oral water agreements with Iran and Turkey to formal agreements to save the country’s share of water.

Basra Investment Commission has granted an investment license for an agricultural project to construct a technical laboratory for tissue cultivation in a cost of 4.8 billion Iraqi Dinars [$4m].
The project includes the building of a laboratory to produce palm trees and plants by using tissues. It also includes a research and studies centre to develop the agricultural sector in Iraq.
The project is located in Al-Sagher Al-Ulaa Island and is to be completed within 18 months.

In the context of efforts to boost investment and support the investment process ongoing in the province of Muthanna, signed Director of Agriculture Muthanna Al Hussein Ali Mahdi contract farming with invested Bushra Hashim Nur Yasiri rental property No. (10 / M 9 Abu salt and the island), located in the district and vegetables-square-mile (40 ) acres allowance annual rent of $ (2000) dinars per acre as of the date of commencement for a period of fifteen years subject to renewal on the basis of Article (11) of the Iraqi investment law No. (13) for the year 2006. It was the conclusion of the contract on the investment license issued by the Investment Commission Muthanna, the eighth of April. This is the first contract of its kind in the field of investment contracts in the agricultural sector in the province and the country in general. The Investment Authority granted investment license Thirty-seventh for the purpose of a complex project Poultry integrated consists of five fields of eggs hatching maternal and hatchery card three million birds a year and five rooms fields for chicken meat in addition to the laboratory for poultry feed.

Visitors: 62
Muthanna Investment Commission granted two licenses Astosmareeten for the implementation of agricultural projects in the province worth (12) million U.S. $

Where the investment license granted to a company the White Lion for contracting construction and general trade for the implementation of Samawah farm for agricultural production and livestock with a capital of up to ($ 2 million) that the project will be implemented within two years from the date of granting leave.

Also granted leave to the company Dora the Euphrates to trade, engineering and construction to create a city

Zulfiqar agricultural productivity with a capital estimated at ($ 10 million) and the duration of the implementation of five years.

The province of Muthanna area is characterized by an abundance of arable land, surface water and groundwater and the right climate for the cultivation of different types of agricultural crops as the proximity of large governorates create a large market for the disposal of agricultural and animal products

(Reuters) - Standing in the middle of what was once a date palm oasis overlooking the Tigris River, Salim Abdulla al-Salim sees little hope in Iraq's quest to relive its heyday as the world's leading producer of dates.

Once, before its 1980s war with Iran, Iraq had 30 million date palms producing 1 million tonnes of dates annually.

But Saddam Hussein's military campaigns and decades of neglect savaged the industry, cutting the number of trees in half and yearly production to 420,000 tonnes.

Young Iraqis, needed to scale the tall palms to hand-cut and lower bunches of golden fruit to the ground, see no future in it and are leaving the orchards for government jobs with better salaries and fewer hardships, Salim said.

"The industry is not viable any more. The revenues don't cover the money spent on preparing the palms for production," said Salim, a date farmer with 6,000 trees.

"In the past, the young generations were adopting their ancestors' jobs, but now they have shifted to police, army and civil jobs, abandoning the date industry," said Salim, standing in his dusty palm orchard in Baghdad's Doura district of Doura.

Iraq, which relies on its vast oil and gas fields for most of its economy, now ranks only 7th among world date producers, according to Kamil Mikhlif al-Dulaimi, head of the Agriculture Ministry's date palm board.

But the ministry has an ambitious $80 million plan to rebuild the date palm inventory up to 40 million trees in 10 years and to introduce more marketable varieties.

"We are working now to change the date palm map, and to produce the species the world wants," Dulaimi said.

Ninety percent of Iraq's production is one variety of date, the Zehdi. The ministry is expanding the menu to include the Hillawi, Khadrawi, Sayer, Maktoom, Derrie, Ashrasi and Barhee varieties.

It is also introducing new types of laboratory-produced trees that will bear fruit in two years instead of the four or five it usually takes.

The ministry recently signed a $17 million contract to buy seven crop-spraying helicopters to fight orchard pests.

"Having these helicopters means a big step forward for the agriculture sector," Deputy Agriculture Minister Ghazi al-Abboudi said in an interview.

BOOSTING PRODUCTION

The government's hope is to double production to more than 800,000 tonnes annually in two years' time, Abboudi said.

Dulaimi's goal appears more modest -- to boost the industry to 800,000-1 million tonnes in ten years.

In the 1970s Iraq sent 700,000 tonnes of dates abroad each year but last year exported only 200,000 tonnes, according to Mohammad Sulaiman, head of the Iraqi government's date processing and marketing company.

Domestically, Iraq consumes about 100,000 tonnes yearly, and farmers in a depressed industry grumble about imports of foreign dates. "I wonder why the government allows imported dates in? Don't we have dates?" asks Salim, the date farmer.

His groves are filled with weeds. Many of his trees have brittle brown fronds hanging limply, and clumps of dried fruit that should have been picked months ago. Salim said he didn't bother because it would not have been financially worthwhile.

Iraqi date palms produced 150-200 kg (330-440 pounds) per tree in the 1990s, when water quality, fertilizers, pollination and pest control were better. Output is now down to just 50 kg, according to Salim.

The government is trying to help farmers boost production via subsidies for fertilizers and crop-dusting helicopters, agriculture officials say, and offers soft loans for processing and storage facilities.

"We started to give loans to investors to build warehouses, and they are increasing. We have now around 80 warehouses in Iraq," Abboudi said.

The ministry also buys dates at $385 a tonne and sells to exporters at half that price to shore up the industry, he said -- effectively subsidizing farmers to keep them cultivating dates.

But farmers like Salim say they would rather sell to a private middle man at $300 a tonne than face the Iraqi government's tangled bureaucracy for the extra $85.

Feroun Ahmed Hussein, the owner of 4,000 palms in Baghdad's Doura district, said many farmers are selling off their land for housing projects despite farm-protection laws enacted before the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that are still on the books.

"Some people figured that the government is not in a strong position and started to sell these agricultural lands to turn them into residential," Hussein said.

Agriculture contributes about 10.2 percent to gross domestic product, according to government statistics, a relatively small slice of an emerging economy dominated by oil.

Iraq has signed deals with oil companies that it hopes will vault it into the top rank of world producers in six years.

But Dulaimi said Iraq should not rely only on oil.

"We are an agricultural country ... it is not in our policy to keep depending on oil," he said. "Oil will run out one day."

"We are an agricultural country ... it is not in our policy to keep depending on oil," he said. "Oil will run out one day."

:yes:

Agriculture Ministry Allocates $285m for Dates

AKnews reports that the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture has announced the allocation of $285 million [350 billion Iraqi dinars] for the rehabilitation of the country’s palm groves.
Ministry spokesman Karim al-Tamimi told the agency that $177.3m of the allocation will fund an investment plan put together by the General Authority of Palms, $76.3m will be used for private investment plans through the ministry and the remaining $31.4m will fund loans to palm grove owners.
The Iraqi government launched a comprehensive initiative to improve the agricultural situation in the country in July 2007, setting a ten year deadline for Iraq to reach the stage of self-sufficiency in strategic crops.
The initiative includes, among other things, supporting farmers with seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, land reclamation, and ensuring the purchase of strategic crops at market prices.
Iraq today has 11 million date palms and the Ministry aims to raise that to 30 million over the next ten years.
The renewal of date exportation from Iraq is part of the government’s plan to develop alternative sources of revenue in an economy that has an almost 95% dependency on oil revenues.
In the 1970s, Iraq’s 34 million date palms accounted for 30% of the world total. Official figures indicate that annual exports from the Basra province alone reached more than 130,000 tons.
Iraq now ranks only 7th among world date producers, according to Kamil Mikhlif al-Dulaimi, head of the Agriculture Ministry’s date palm board.
The region, once home to almost 13 million palm trees, acclaimed to be among the finest in the world, suffered greatly during the Iraqi-Iranian war which began in 1980 when the Saddam regime ordered the ‘beheading’ or bulldozing of many of the palms as part of a campaign to enhance security in the region.
In more recent years, the outbreak of the 2003 war to bring down the Saddam regime, heralded further devastation to the agricultural areas of Faw and Abu Khusaib and Shatt al-Arab in the Basrah province.
Many orchards were seriously damaged as hundreds of families were displaced from the Ahwar marshes to the palm groves. At the same time, benefiting from the chaos in the region, gangs were seizing farmland by force and reselling it to developers.

http://www.iraq-businessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/dates-Source-Madhif.jpg

Iraq sees higher wheat harvest, to suspend imports
May 25, 2011 6:49 PM - 0 comments TEXT SIZE *BAGHDAD | REUTERS
Crops, Markets
Iraq expects its wheat harvest to increase to between two million and 2.5 million tonnes this year, the agriculture minister said on Tuesday, up from 1.866 million tonnes in the 2009-10 season when rains were good.

"We expect wheat to be above two million tonnes," Izzedine al-Dawla told reporters.

Al-Dawla also said he had asked the economic committee at the council of ministers to halt wheat imports until the local harvest ends, to curb illegal reselling of imported grain as local produce to benefit from high prices.

"Prices (of wheat) in Iraq are the highest in the region," he said at a news conference.

Iraq's government pays the steep prices to encourage farmers to plant more local wheat to increase domestic production and reduce the need for heavy reliance on imports.

The country is one of the world's largest grain importers, with rice and wheat supplying a national food ration program. It consumes around 4.5 million tonnes of wheat a year.

The Canadian Wheat Board last summer estimated its 2009-10 wheat exports to Iraq at 1.18 million tonnes, making Iraq the CWB's top export customer by volume in that crop year.

Iraq's trade ministry has cancelled direct cash purchases of essential food items, such as sugar, wheat and rice, as a measure to halt corruption, Deputy Trade Minister Sweiba Mahmoud said on Sunday.

The move was announced as a 100-day target set by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to improve his fragile coalition government's performance in the face of popular protests against shortages and corruption neared its early June deadline.

Although direct cash food purchases were being halted, Iraq, one of the world's largest grain importers, would continue to hold public and selective tenders to supply its food needs.

Most of the essential food items imported for the national monthly food ration programme had come from direct cash purchases, a ministry source said.

Mahmoud told a news conference the bulk of corruption problems in the country's food supply channels had been experienced in the area of direct cash purchases.

"There was a mechanism of cash purchase in the trade ministry and this mechanism has been cancelled," she said.

Like other countries in the Arab world, Iraq, its oil- dependent economy battered by war and sectarian violence since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, has faced protests this year by citizens angry about corruption and a lack of public services and jobs.

This included complaints about the monthly food ration giving Iraqis supplies of rice, cooking oil and other staples.

Iraq consumes around 4.5 million tonnes of wheat a year, 1.2 million tonnes of rice, and 780,000 tonnes of sugar annually.

Maliki, who is under pressure from the protests and over the scheduled withdrawal by the year-end of the last remaining U.S. troops in his still volatile country, has said he will sack ministers if his cross-sectarian administration does not improve its performance. Critics say it is he who should resign.

Mahmoud said Iraq had enough sugar in stock to last until September. "We have enough reserves in the trade ministry warehouses to cover requirements until the end of September," she said.

She added the government intended to phase out the food ration programme by the end of 2014, keeping it only for the most needy. This would give more of a chance for the private sector to import national food requirements.

The ministry had requested a total budget allocation for 2011 of 7 trillion dinars ($6 billion), but had only received 4 trillion ($3.4 billion) so far, which was just enough to cover the food ration programme needs until the end of September.

Mahmoud said the deficit in relation to the total requested had slowed the ministry's performance, but it expected to receive a supplementary budget from oil revenues.

Iraq’s Wheat and Cotton Threatened by Invasive Weed
Posted on 29 May 2011. Tags: silverleaf nightshade

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has reported that it is assisting farmers in Iraq and Syria to battle a devastating alien weed that sucks nutrients from the soil and starves crops of much-needed water.
The berries of the weed, known as silverleaf nightshade (Solanum elaeagnifolium), can also poison livestock if ingested, according to the Rome-based agency.
The weed, which has very deep roots and is covered in spines, is a relative of the tomato originally hailing from tropical America. FAO says it probably arrived in the Middle East through trade, its seeds hidden in containers or in bags of agricultural commodities.
More than 60 per cent of the cultivated land in Syria, growing mainly cotton and wheat, has now been infested with the weed. The berries of the weed, known as silverleaf nightshade (Solanum elaeagnifolium), can also poison livestock if ingested, according to the Rome-based agency.
In north-western Iraq, a similar mass infestation has been reported and the weed has also been spotted in various sites in Lebanon and Jordan, where it will spread if nothing is done, warns FAO.
The agency is implementing a project to help farmers manage and prevent further spread of silverleaf nightshade in all four countries.
“We want to introduce an integrated weed management approach, which means we will not focus on herbicides, although we might use them if we have to, but instead we would rather test sustainable alternative management possibilities,” said Gualbert Gbèhounou, FAO Weed Officer.
FAO is recommending that farmers rotate regular crops with the fodder crop alfalfa, which covers the ground and competes with silverleaf nightshade.
“This prevents the weed from producing new seeds and also reduces amount of weed seed in the soil,” the agency noted.
It is also encouraging countries to review their regulatory environments and collaborate to reinforce control of silverleaf nightshade at the national and regional levels.

Bad news....

WASSIT / Aswat al-Iraq: Over 250,000 tons of wheat have been marketed by peasants and farmers of the agricultural crop for 2010-2011, the Director of Wassit’s Branch of the stated-owned General Company for Grain Trading has stated on Tuesday.

“The stores of the General Company for Grain Trading in Kut and Suwaira towns have received 253,000 tons of grain, within the winter season of 2010-2011, whilst an agreement had been reached for marketing of crops of the northern parts of Wassit Province to Baghdad’s Rusafa stores,” Engineer Malik Khalaf told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

Iraq’s Trade Ministry recently announced that southern Iraq’s Wassit Province leads among the country’s provinces in growing and marketing wheat and barley for the current season.

Noteworthy is that the 2009-2010 winter season had witnessed the planting of one million and 26,000 donums of wheat and barley, while 751,000 donums were planted by wheat and 275,000 donums with barley.

Kut, the center of Wassit Province, is 180 km to the southeast of Baghdad.

Iraqi Wheat Production Comes to 1.8 Million Tons, Minister Says
Jul 25, 2011

Iraq’s wheat production amounts to 1.8 million metric tons this year and the country is due to become an exporter of the grain by 2015, Deputy Agriculture Minister Ghazi al-Abudi said.

Output is on course to reach 2.25 million to 2.5 million tons at the end of the season this year, the minister said today at a press conference in Baghdad. “Production is due to reach 3 million tons next year and Iraq is expected to become a wheat exporter by 2015 in line with government plans,” he said.

Iraq produced 1.875 million tons last year, Amer Abdul Aziz, spokesman for the Grain Board of Iraq, said July 19. The harvest so far this season covers about 40 percent of total national demand of about 4.5 million tons, he said.

The country will probably import another 1 million tons of wheat before the end of the year after buying 1.5 million tons so far in 2011, Hasan Ibrahim, the board’s general director, said June 7. Iraq tendered last week for 100,000 tons of wheat from all origins, with a bidding deadline of July 30.

Agricultural Oases to Tackle Desertification
25 July 2011

The agriculture ministry has started work on a project to create green oases in various parts of the country as a way to combat a increasing desertification due to water shortages, according to a report from AKnews.
The oases will be planted with palm trees and cultivated for agricultural purpose with irritation from wells. The total cost of the projects will be 5 billion Iraqi dinars ($4 million).
“The Ministry has started implementing 7 projects to create large agricultural oases each with an area of 200 to 800 dunums (50-200 hectares) of land” said director of desertification control in the ministry, Mohammed Ghazi al-Akhras.
Five of the oases will be located in the desert areas of Anbar, Iraq’s largest province. Nineveh and Basra provinces will have one oasis each.
Large parts of Iraq that were once productive farmland have already turned into arid desert. The ministry says that between 40 and 50 per cent of what was agricultural land in the 1970s is now a barren wasteland.
The ministry of agriculture has so far completed 28 oases all over Iraq. It has announced plans to plant some 20 million trees as a way to address the issue.
Iraqi analysts claim that desertification has increased sharply in recent years as neighboring countries Turkey, Syria and Iran take more and more water. The Iraqi government has been highly critical of these actions which mean that during the summer months many rivers run dry shortly after they pass into Iraq.
The collapse in the water levels of the rivers has been swift. In 2000, the flow speed of the Euphrates was 950 cubic meters per second, but by this year it had dropped to 230 cubic meters per second.
Desertification also affects the cities. Sandstorms have become more frequent in recent years, sometimes bringing urban centers to stand-still and grounding planes.

129 KM Irrigation Channel for Basra


Iraq’s Ministry of Water Resources has announced the building of a 129KM irrigation channel from the Shatt al-Arab waterway.
The channel will be lined with concrete, and will carry water at a rate of 30 cubic meters per second.
The project, which will provide water for agricultural land in the Basra governorate, is expected to cost 141 billion Iraqi dinars [$120m].

Agriculture regain 546 of 629 species out of Iraqi dates
August 7 2011

Baghdad, Mustafa Majeed
Succeeded and the Ministry of Agriculture to restore 546 of out 629 species of Iraqi dates, which became extinct dozens of them during the past three decades. The director of the General Authority for Nakheel in the ministry full Mukhlif Zaia special permit for "morning", said the body has succeeded over the past seven years, the restoration of 546 species of out of 629 species of Iraqi dates famous in the world, including some species that became extinct already succeeded after the Commission's efforts and described as "painstaking" the restoration of seedlings and only one of them, namely "to Qatona" and "Melh" and "Hkurawi" and "Eye of the bathroom" and "the State", which is deposited in the bank for breeding.

He noted that the Commission is seeking through the implementation of the "mothers of palm" in place since years for the propagation of seedlings producing tissue and cultivated in the provinces respectively, because of its characteristics and qualities desired level of production and export conscious of the importance of palm trees and dates, which enforced the country since ancient times, and in return Iraq the lead again ranked first in the world in numbers and palm amounts Tamorh produced during the next term.

He Zaia said the authority has adopted since its establishment in 2004, a package of projects aimed for the advancement of palm trees in the country, by 26 stations in 13 provinces, which expires in 2012 and the duration of maintenance extends to the year 2021, in addition to the project to prepare the palm groves of old and extends up to ten years, and another heuristic for the introduction of modern technology for the cultivation of palm trees and the construction of presses for dates in five provinces, as well as driver Qalat palm, ages five to 25 years of orchards mothers, anywhere desired by the farmer.

The Director of the General Authority of the palm that the ministry is working through the bodies of the extension, palm trees, agricultural research, extensively to provide guidance and studies specialized research and the adoption of successful experiences of countries prior to the country area of the development of palm groves and production dates of trade desired world, similar to my experience the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, and then transfer them to the owners of orchards palm in the country, especially the province of Basra, which decreased the preparation of palm trees for less than three million after it was nearly ten million early eighties.

It is said that Iraq, which was until the end of the sixties of the last century, issued nearly 75 percent of the dates of the world and occupies the first place the number of palm number reached 33 million, declined over the past four decades to ninth place among exporters of dates in the world, which attributed agricultural experts to the lack of water quotas, disease and wars that devastated millions of trees, over the period from 1980 to now.

The ministry had prepared the work programs of intensive rehabilitation sector palm in the country, based cultivation of varieties that goes on for production to start from September and up to November in order to benefit from high prices for Tamortazjh marketed worldwide during the said period, and adopt a prolong period of marketing the adoption of cold storage and the types of business desired global special "Almjul" which is sold per kilogram than in European countries, twenty dollars, in addition to educational projects for the unemployed peasants in the provinces to promote the cultivation of palm trees for the current year work contracts-running two-to then be given a choice the farmer for the loan required for the construction of the garden of his own from a lending fund development of palm $ 100 million in the initiative, or even the acquisition of the same sites that have been set up educational projects in question.

After a successful agricultural policy to support local production
August 14 2011


BAGHDAD - Hussein al-Tamimi Tgb
Found agricultural experts that the reactivation of agricultural production requires the combined efforts of several entities working to find formulas joint collaboration to create the field of production is not possible depletion, and provides services to countless of the Iraqi economy, stressing the start is possible, available and developed down to the appropriate environment for launch towards the agricultural sector advanced support means advanced agricultural , that achieve self-sufficiency in all types of crops, and enrich the country from dependence on neighboring countries and others, and one of the leading factors of success achieved by the agricultural sector, the adoption of agricultural policy sober adopted by the Ministry of Agriculture in the protection of the domestic product by preventing the import in the period of peak production at home .

Alzerkane Captain Imad engineers agricultural administrators told the (morning): The process of advancement of the agricultural sector can not do without the integration of staff of the Trinity known as the land, water and scientific expertise, and then employ agricultural inputs available to activate the output.

He said the agricultural sector was still Bjanabih physical and human capital sector is important to the length of the previous ages and left the ground under the weight of abuse, pointing out that the most important factors of neglect of this sector, which constitutes the backbone of life in the Iraqi society lies in the lack of Kawar scientific and technical linked administrative efficiently

He noted that at this stage that contains the mechanisms, studies, and great efforts to promote agricultural production, has to be coordination between all institutions concerned with affairs of agricultural out with positive results, and here we believe that the role of scientific expertise required, and emphasizes the mobilization and the creation of human elements to prove the existence and achieve our ambition of making competencies are able to manage this process successfully.

It also must work according to the context of a scientific art, and in line with the requirements necessary for the sector of Iraq and to communicate with international experience, and farming methods that have adopted advanced technology, and transfer to the field through direct meetings and holding seminars and issuing scientific and other means to communicate to others that raise the awareness of large segment is responsible for managing the production process have a direct and significant impact on the economy of the country.

And afflicted that the union joint program with the institutions concerned in the Ministry of Agriculture and Colleges of Agriculture and the Ministry of Science and Technology and other ministries relevant for the purpose of training and preparation of agricultural engineers with the contribution of the union actively to implement the training and development programs agreed upon with the parties, as work continues on finding mechanisms to ensure Activity scientific expertise of the agricultural engineer in the field for his role in the diagnosis of kinks and contain most of the problems.

The Head of the Federation of Associations of agricultural Hassan Nassif al-Tamimi told the (morning): The agricultural sector have the resources for the advancement to levels covering the needs of the country, if there was a set of requirements for growth, where the need for irrigation water and pesticides to combat pests, as well as fertilizer chemical, as well as the need for effective law ensures protection products, agricultural sector, which is an economic resource firm, pointing out that contain these determinants can be through coordination between the relevant authorities to the field of agriculture, which provides each of which proposals the development of production and overcome the obstacles after the field study carried out by specialists in this matter.

Mhbeira to prevent the import policy in the peak periods and it said successful and achieved its goals, also called al-Tamimi to regulate the distribution of chemical fertilizer for some crops and neglect of other crops and orchards.

He expressed regret razed large areas of orchards and away from the cultivation of vegetables, production declined to low levels, due to failure to regulate the distribution of fertilizer.

He added that a large number of farmers relied on the giant water pumps and medium irrigation of large areas and they need to fuel and electrical energy, and are suffering a shortage of these materials caused confusion in the work of this slide and the country was deprived of the mass production of different crops.

He pointed to the need for a new policy for dealing with agricultural production in terms of export surplus, and that there is a mechanism for sharing a joint with the neighboring countries working on the export of a particular crop when further import from the other side, thus making a new port of surplus crops, especially as the season saw the accumulation of yield of tomato in the offices of the wholesale to the lack of market demand, adding that the experience of agriculture within the greenhouses came the results are positive, and called for a strategic plan to revive the reality of agriculture across the country encouraging to find agricultural investments to serve the country and Neither abuse farmer, but a partnership with the investor who must comes from the techniques of modern machinery and factories and advanced farming methods promote the agricultural field, because the transfer of technology has become one of the necessities of agricultural advancement, which represents an important aspect in the national economy.

Iraq growing its own says Agriculture Ministry
17/08/2011


The Agriculture Ministry says that 90% of the fresh vegetables on the Iraqi market today are locally produced, signaling the success of the government’s import policies.

Ministry spokesman Karim al-Tamimi told AKnews that the ministry has imposed strict controls on the import of vegetables with an outright ban on some strategic crops, in a bid to support Iraqi agriculture.

In 2007, the government launched a scheme to improve the agricultural situation in the country, setting a 10-year time limit for Iraq to become self-sufficient in staple foodstuffs.

Included in the initiative is the provision of basic supplies to local producers, such as seeds, pesticides and fertilizers, as well as helping with land reclamation issues and ensuring market prices for their harvests.

Mosul’s Mushroom Farm a First for Iraq
September 2 2011



Although they grow wild, mushrooms remain a relatively exotic food in Iraq, according to this report from Niqash. Now one ambitious Mosul man plans to change all that: by starting Iraq’s first mushroom farm. And there are already shoppers queuing for his fungi.

The casual observer would be hard pressed to find signs of an ambitious agricultural project with great commercial and culinary potential, here on this quiet street in the working class neighbourhood of Ras al-Jadda in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. Yet this is where one of Iraq’s most innovative agricultural projects is underway: Iraq’s first mushroom growing project.

Two years ago Majeed Hamid Sallal got a license from the investment commission of the state of Ninawa, which encourages new investments in the northern state, to start his mushroom farm.

“But growing mushrooms requires special conditions,” he said. “And for these reasons they thought that my project would fail. Nobody encouraged me to carry on.”

However Sallal has proved the mushroom naysayers wrong. Proudly holding up one of his mushrooms, Sallal said he has already come up to international standards in white mushroom growing, with his project’s potential to produce an average of between 20 and 30 kilograms of mushrooms per square meter of mushroom compost. And he is very confident that he can continue to make his mushrooms a success. His achievement in the face of such difficult circumstances, he feels, deserves praise.

After being unable to get much advice or help from academics at the University of Mosul, Sallal went to the city of Alepo in Syria where he paid to take courses in agricultural science and where he was also introduced to similar mushroom projects. For instance, mushrooms have been grown successfully in Idlib, Syria, which neighbours the state of Alepo.

When NIQASH came to visit the mushroom project in Mosul, Sallal lectured this correspondent on the intricacies of growing mushrooms as though he were a university professor. “Growing mushrooms requires pasteurization and sterilization to get rid of harmful bacteria,” he explained. “This was done here,” he said, indicating a small chamber containing steam machines, which are needed for the pasteurization of mushroom compost. “These machines were made in Mosul,” Sallal says, “because importing them would have been too expensive. And they work perfectly.”

To successfully plant, grow and harvest the mushrooms, conditions need to be optimal – and this includes heat and high humidity, with just the right levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide. Various machines create these conditions in a room with specially built walls that will ensure best conditions for baby mushrooms can be maintained. Today, in the terraces that have been built throughout the space, one can already see the white sprouts coming up.

“The most difficult part is preparing the seeds,” Sallal explained. “And that happened in a laboratory. But there’s no room for mistakes at any stage because all the stages complement one another.”

What is particularly interesting about Sallal’s mushroom project is that it is almost completely local: the only stage at which foreigners intervene is in the preparation of the seeds.

Nonetheless, Sallal said the project had still been an expensive one. He was reluctant to talk about the real costs of the project. Although he had used his own money to set the mushroom project up, he had also been able to get a loan from the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture. “It is too costly,” Sallal complained, “but at the same time, it is also profitable.”

The state of Ninawa is well known for its agriculture and is Iraq’s leading wheat and barley producing region, responsible, on average, for around 20 per cent of the country’s total wheat production and around 30 per cent of its total barley crop. But mushroom farming is something new to Ninawa and it may well be an interesting, potentially lucrative, alternative for grain farmers in the area heavily hit by successive droughts and unsteady government support over the past few years.

A professor at the College of Agriculture and Forestry at Mosul University, Ali Kareem, recalled that there had been an attempt to grow mushrooms in Ninawa before, back in the 1970s. “But if production has already started, then that is sufficient proof of this [Sallal's] project’s success already,” he noted.
Despite Sallal’s fungal success so far though, local authorities still seem to have some reservations about the mushroom project.

The head of the local council’s committee on agriculture and water, Nawaf Turki al-Faisal, told NIQASH that he was concerned about whether the end product would be fit for human consumption and that he would need to check with health and environmental authorities. Then again, this procedure was supposed to have been undertaken before Ninawa’s investment commission licensed the project.

Meanwhile back at the mushroom project, Sallal talked about how watching mushrooms grow made him happy. Although mushrooms are not that common in Iraq, the people of Mosul like to eat well and Sallal’s aim is to encourage more of them to try his mushrooms. Ninawa has a population of around three million and Sallal would like mushrooms to become a steady culinary favourite here.

Sallal gifts some of his mushrooms to his friends because at the moment, the project is still in the experimental stage and not that many are being produced but every week small amounts of his white mushrooms also arrive at the Barakat al-Rahman supermarket in the Jadida neighbourhood of Mosul. One kilogram sells for IQD6,000 (around US$5), the store owner reported.
But, as the shop owner quickly pointed out, “some customers now wait for [Sallal’s] mushrooms to arrive because they consider them better quality than the imported mushrooms.”

The use of modern technologies in the conservation of dates in Iraq
September 5 2011


Researchers presented a single Ministry of Science and Technology study included the search of a substitute for the use of methyl bromide gas is used in keeping dates packaged for commercial purposes, using other alternatives and environmentally acceptable Atotr to human health or the environment in general ...

And between Dr.Iyad Ahmed term that gas methyl bromide gases, carcinogens and polluting the environment and humans and affect the ozone layer being one of the gases depleting them.

The study pointed to the possibility of using nuclear technology in the killing of insects dates stored or the use of elements of integrated control of insects mites dates. And made ​​the summary study results, including the possibility of applying such techniques in Iraq through the provision of plant for the production of sterile insects and plant for the production of a malicious eggs and intruder larvae as well as sending cadres of scientific training on the accelerator electron beams, which is used in the field of nuclear technology to kill insects dates.

Low numbers of palms and Iraq is seeking to raise them
September 11 2011


Iraqi officials paid towards the cultivation of palm-back programs in the country of Iraq which it is famous throughout the Middle East, but he suffered a significant decline in their numbers over the past decades.

These trees that have been celebrated since ancient Babylonian symbol of power and luxury, but more than three decades of sanctions, wars and mismanagement have led to a decrease in numbers significantly.

Kamel says Dulaimi, head of palm trees in the Ministry of Agriculture «In ancient times, people rely heavily on this tree that operators charge not only of food but also wood, tools, furniture, baskets».

He said «It is a symbol of Iraq for several reasons, therefore, the Iraqi government has allocated $ 150 million in a project to double the numbers three times to the tree by its fruit is popular with people, especially in the holy month of Ramadan in 2012«.

This program, which started already in 2005 and participated in the ministry grow 30 farms palm and the government is trying to attract private sector investment for the cultivation of additional sites in the Western Desert of Iraq, where they were planted thousands of seedlings, there also comes the effort to try to restore the country's infrastructure, He said al-Dulaimi said «Generally speaking, the goal of the government program is to increase the number of palm trees to 40 million trees in 10 years, the number was about 32 million trees in the middle of the twentieth century, this figure dropped to 12 million trees in 2000».

The government authorities have collected 520 species of these trees and is looking to increase this number, which represents three-quarters of the types of palm trees in Iraq, and Iraq had before the eighties 600 species of palm trees, but the drop in numbers was the result of wars and conflicts, many of Iraq that occurred in the eighties and beyond, and before that dates were the second largest intake of Iraqi exports after oil.

Iraq growing its own says Agriculture Ministry
17/08/2011


The Agriculture Ministry says that 90% of the fresh vegetables on the Iraqi market today are locally produced, signaling the success of the government’s import policies.

Ministry spokesman Karim al-Tamimi told AKnews that the ministry has imposed strict controls on the import of vegetables with an outright ban on some strategic crops, in a bid to support Iraqi agriculture.

In 2007, the government launched a scheme to improve the agricultural situation in the country, setting a 10-year time limit for Iraq to become self-sufficient in staple foodstuffs.

Included in the initiative is the provision of basic supplies to local producers, such as seeds, pesticides and fertilizers, as well as helping with land reclamation issues and ensuring market prices for their harvests.

khara ab 3ardh il chidhib! :lol:

Over million donums to be planted with wheat, barley in Wassit Province
9/25/2011


Southern Iraq’s Wassit Province was reported on Sunday to have completed its preparations to plant over one million donums of wheat and barley crops in different agricultural areas of the Province.

“Our Province has completed its preparations to implement the agricultural plan for the next winter season, to cover the planting of one million and 26,000 donums of wheat and barley crops in different parts of the Province,” Wassit’s Agriculture Director, Faiz Jawad told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

Jawad said that “the Province’s Agricultural Committee depended on the same plan of last year for the planted area that covered the planting of 751,000 donums with wheat and 275,000 donums with barley, after supplying the farmers with seeds.”

Noteworthy is that Wassit Province occupied the first position among all other Iraqi Provinces in the process of marketing wheat and barley crops, that reached 403,000 tons of wheat and 60,000 tons of barley.

Kut, the center of Wassit Province, is 180 km to the southeast of Baghdad.

The Iraqi dunam is 2,500 square metres

Ministry of Agriculture confirms that the number of palm trees in Iraq is 21 million, not ten million


October 5 2011

Baghdad: Ahmed Naseer
The presence of the Minister of Agriculture, Izz al-Din Abdullah, the state set up a Ministry of Agriculture, represented by the General Authority for palm festive palm trees and dates eighth on Sunday, 25 / September the current and the Club, the top in Baghdad. And began celebratory organized under the slogan (Ngelna code Hmokh new Iraq).

The presence of a number of the members of the Iraqi Council of Representatives and Minister of Agriculture and former agents, consultants and general managers and directors of agriculture, experts, researchers and managers of plants palm in the provinces and the media.

And the minister gave a speech on the occasion, he said, where we attended today to celebrate Bamtna Palm, this blessed tree generous that deserve our All honor and praise and said we celebrate this day every year, because Iraq is a country of 30 million trees and explained that the ministry is working on the implementation of agricultural projects for the palm groves, as well as rehabilitation of old fields and destructive, and pointed to the existence of an attack from some quarters in the region through broadcast rumors say that the Iraqi dates have been exposed to radiation, and at the same time they work on the purchase of Iraqi dates, and then re-packaging and selling them on the world market again and said the authorities are trying to show that this issue is not political, and in the fact that this subject is purely political, and called on everyone whether they are MPs in the parliament or government officials to stop this vicious attack on our country and said the minister in case we receive the official task we addressed the processing of the owners of palm groves Pfsaúl palm of good quality, and work to rehabilitate the palm groves, in addition to the processing of every Iraqi family Bveselh palm for the propagation of palm trees in the country, and called on Iraqis to plant palm trees everywhere in the land of Iraq, in order to return Iraq to its previous status in the occupation of sites lead in the number of palm trees and the production and export of dates and said there were several statistics issued by some organizations suggest that the number of palm in Iraq has dropped to (8) million, or (10) million trees.

But the latest statistic reached by the General Authority for Nakheel says the number of palm trees in Iraq right now is (21) million trees stressed the keenness and the ministry to support the owners of the palm groves all what they need from the requirements , calling for the use of modern technologies and scientific methods developed in the cultivation of palm in order to increase and improve the production of dates in Iraq and then gave Mr. Kamel Mukhlif Zaia / Director General of the palm word which he discussed the projects palm implementing, and supporting the ministry to develop the sector and palm date production is also touched on the achievements in the field of palms recently has included a ceremonial dumping of poems, events sang love Iraq, as well as embodied the historical depth of Iraq in the field of agriculture and then opened the minister exhibition dates, which was held in the festivities, which included the finest and the best types of Iraqi dates and models of manufacturing special dates, and the ways science used in the cultivation of palm, including the way the textile, which is one of the latest tools developed and distributed by the end, prizes and certificates to the gentlemen farmers, officials and guests.

Were also distributed some of the items date palm cultivation to farmers outstanding. Post hallmark of Agriculture Department of Krblaneucharkt Agriculture Department of Karbala stand conveniently included many varieties of dates and products extracted from the dates and saw lots of interest by officials in the Ministry of Agriculture and members of the House of Representatives, specialists and citizens.

Eng. Razak Ali al-Tai Director of the cultivation of Karbala that the Directorate participated in this exhibition booth included dozens of varieties of dates the rare plant in the province of Karbala in addition to the many industries that enter dates and which are produced in Karbala during the labs and factories, which were created through loans from the agricultural initiative.

The was wing Agriculture Department of Karbala, we have been approved by the Minister of Agriculture Izz al-Din Abdullah countries who visited the exhibition and see the most important exhibits of the various Alsnov rare dates, which is characterized by Karbala planted addition to the presentation date products Caldbs, vinegar, dates, canned improvised different and intended for export. also briefed on some of the photographers Filksat and that explained the evolution in the sector dates witnessed by the province, especially during the past years through the control of air led to a lower incidence of plague Dubas and consequently increase productivity and improve the quality of dates in the province.

DAI also visited the wing members of the Agricultural Committee in the House of Representatives, led by Mr. Fouad Alldorki addition to the deputy ministers, advisers and specialists palm sector and a large gathering of citizens.

Agriculture in Wasit declare surplus achieved in the production of some crops through greenhouse technology
October 10 2011


Agriculture Department announced that Wasit from a surplus in the production of vegetables through the use of greenhouse technology in agriculture.

He said agricultural engineer winner Jawad Gharrawi Director Agriculture and Wasit, "The use of greenhouse technology in the cultivation of agricultural crops has great abundance in the production of vegetables, especially cucumbers and tomatoes."

"The number of plastic houses distributed to farmers in the province amounted to two thousand home, subsidized by the Ministry of Agriculture and some international organizations, and the production of these houses was 5-6 tons of crop tomato in one house offset between 7-8 tons in one house of the crop option, which means more product for which the rate of domestic consumption. "

Gharrawi said that "it paid to the Department of Agriculture invite investors to set up cold storage to accommodate the surplus. Has been to build its first store cooler on an area of ​​land and 250 thousand square meters in the city of Kut."

Good effect: The percentage of recovery reached 60% of the marshes and work is still going on
October 11 2011


BAGHDAD - babysit - Minister of State for the marshes of good force, said on Tuesday that destroyed the marshes during days of the previous regime is experiencing a major campaign to bring it back to life after the fall of that regime.

"The force" said in a statement singled out by the news agency and public opinion, "The marshes dried up and ended the day life of the inhabitants was left in no man and no animal or plant being exposed to the systematic sabotage and orderly."

He was pointing out that open water of the marshes have been recovered by 60 percent, and work continued to revive it.

Stressing that his ministry had moved since 2006 to serve the first two-way return the marsh water to it and the second delivery of services to the people that dwell therein ... p / g

^^ Great news

Iraq to spend $500 Million USD to stimulate agriculture



Baghdad, Oct. 12 (AKnews) - The Iraqi Agriculture Ministry wants to spend more than 600 billion IQD ($504.8 million USD) to build modern agricultural villages in order to stimulate the Iraqi agricultural industry.

20 billion IQD ($16.8 million USD) will be spent on average for each village in the provinces of Najaf, Anbar, Nineveh and Babil, Salahaddin and Baghdad, two villages in Diwaniyah and Karbala have already been completed, according to the ministry.

"The project will be completed by 2015," promised Deputy Agriculture Minister Mahdi Damad al-Qaisi.

The Iraqi agriculture industry is suffering because of a two-year drought and farmers who are unable to compete with cheap imported products and therefore reluctant to farm.

The government tried to address the issue in January 2010 with a law for modern agricultural villages which mandated the Agriculture Ministry to determine suitable sites for the villages and to construct housing units.

These villages are supposed to be equipped with developed mechanisms to improve the agricultural situation, such as irrigation systems. Also, a loan system shall be available for farmers.

First animal feed plant in mid Iraq
October 18 2011



KARBALA / Aswat al-Iraq: The first animal feed plant was opened today by a local investor at a cost of 6 million dollars, Karbala's Investment Director announced.

Ta'if Abdul Hussein told Aswat al-Iraq that the investor is from Diala province.

The plant was supplied by modern Turkish machinery, with a production capacity of 200 tons per day.

It will provide animal, fish and poultry with required feed.

Expert Confirms: Iraqi agriculture started to recover
December 25 2011


Expert Confirms: Iraqi agriculture started to recover ..It is expected the arrival of Iraq to self-sufficiency of the strategic crops

Baghdad (news) .. Samir al-Obeidi Alkhbayralzerai expected in the coming years the arrival of Iraq to self-sufficiency in wheat material, the fact that most of the farms began to produce tons of wheat in dunum, saying: that the Iraqi agriculture has started to recover and Mgayeran former.

Obeidi said in a statement to the Agency (news) said on Sunday: There is a high potential of the events of mutations agricultural quality and quantity, especially crops strategy Kalhanth, and will arrive in Iraq in the coming years to self-sufficiency of the material of wheat as a result, most seed producers have achieved high rates of wheat through the production tons Dunum one on the space (1000) and acres (6000) acres.

He pointed to: that the agricultural sector in Iraq began to recover itself through agricultural initiative and the plan developed by the Ministry of Agriculture, calling to: reliance on scientific research through the transfer of experiences of researchers to the agricultural fields through the guidance of the farmer in the field.

Obeidi said: There are Iraqi scientists and researchers that are finding solutions in distinct varieties for the production of wheat and conducted their research on how to increase production and gave positive indications of increasing production per Dunum.

The agricultural expert called to: the need to use modern irrigation systems (drip) for the purpose of watering the crops and the strategy to keep on giving proper irrigation Bmuadh by plant age as a pass until the ripening stages, as well as to reduce the waste of irrigation water from the random

He had announced the Ministry of Agriculture earlier conducted using the techniques of modern irrigation projects for the cultivation of wheat, indicating that it will be distributed at irrigation systems (50%) of the farmers in order to ensure the production of (3) million tons per season of this crop

The art dealer of the Ministry of Agriculture Mehdi Qaisi in an earlier statement (of the Agency news): The Ministry of Agriculture began a project to use modern techniques to irrigate cultivation of wheat, which is a national project, because he believes the needs of the citizen of a substance wheat that fall in the diets of its daily food, as well as to being considered one of the strategic crops that are affected by the global economic fluctuations.

The Qaisi: The project was introduced, and soon will be distributed the first set of these systems to farmers at subsidized prices to (50%) to cover agriculture (3) million acres of wheat, which believes in the production of (3) million tons per season, indicating stability of food at least as important as the national Ostaqraralomn within the country.

^^^good news

The government is spending large amounts of money for agriculture, there are excavators working on reviving farmland all of over Iraq and it's apparent if you go there, the only problem is some farmers have lost interest in farming because it doesn't provide much income. My family has a big palm tree farm, we just let the dates grow and dry up because It's not worth selling them, and all the palm trees are still young and producing.

Agriculture opens first research station for the buffalo in Iraq
January 16 2012


The Public Authority for Agricultural Research opened the first research facility on buffalo in Iraq in the Abu Ghraib.

Dr. Muthanna Ekada Director General of Agricultural Research during the opening ceremony of the station, the opening of the research station is a great addition to the Authority and the Ministry, the fact that the lack of a research station in this regard.

He added that the Authority is preparing to initiate research on this animal after processing buffaloes from local markets, and the completion of the station from all aspects of administrative and research.

The animal buffalo from animals raised in Iraq significantly, they come in cultured in Iraq after the sheep and cows, an animal with a high production of milk, depends upon a lot by breeders of livestock in Iraq, particularly in central and southern Iraq.

Iraq to Increase Wheat Output by 74%
18 jan 2012


Iraq plans to increase domestic wheat production by about 74 percent to 3 million metric tons by 2015, according to Saleh Hussein Jabur [Jabr], director general of state- owned Mesopotamia Seed Company.

Bloomberg reports that the government intends to triple the annual quantity of wheat seed that it buys from local farmers to 180,000 tons in 2015 from 60,000 tons now.

Iraq is one of the world’s biggest importers of wheat and rice, which are purchased by the government to supply the country’s food rationing program. Soil salinity, poor irrigation and a drought in the last three years combined to make the country a buyer on world markets.

Iraq consumes about 4.5 million tons of wheat a year and local production for the 2010-11 season was about 1.73 million tons; the country plans to import 3 million tons of wheat in 2012.

مشروع شركة الشاكر الزراعي الاستثماري من أول المشاريع الاستثمارية في بادية النجف

http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/432371_304134946306598_181838738536220_786515_1587647416_n.jpg

مشروع شركة الشاكر الزراعي الاستثماري من أول المشاريع الاستثمارية في بادية النجف والذي يقع إلى الغرب من مركز المحافظة في بحر النجف ويبعد مسافة 55 كيلو متر مربع في منطقة ما تسمى مقاطعة(5) في جزيرة النجف حيث يعتبر المشروع من المشاريع الاستراتيجية التي تقوي الإنتاج المحلي وتطوره وهناك ثلاثة مشاريع زراعية أخرى في الجانب الأخر من المشروع وقد وصلت تكلفة المشروع لحد ألان حوالي (7 مليارات دينار عراقي).
وبين المدير المفوض للمشروع علي شاكر إن المشروع هو زراعي متكامل لإنتاج البطاطا والحنطة والذرة الصفراء وأشجار الزيتون والحمضيات وزهرة الشمس والمحاصيل الزراعية المحمية والبقوليات ومشروع إنتاجي حيوان لتربية العجول والأغنام والدواجن . بمساحة (70,000 إلف دونم تم زراعة 7000 دونم. وبمعدل )( 2000دونم حنطة و2000 دونم بطاطا و3000 دونم متنوعة) وقد سوق جزء من محصول البطاطا إلى الأسواق المحلية ولاقاه استحسان التجار .
وعن معوقات المشروع أشار شاكر " إن من أهم المعوقات هو الماء لان الآبار لا تكفي بسبب مشكلة الحفر وطريقته وانجاز المعاملات ويحتاج مجموعة كبيرة من الآبار ويكلف البئر الواحد يكلف 50 مليون دينار لحفره وتنصيبه وأضاف قائلا إن المعوق الأخر هو الطريق بسبب بعد المشروع عن المدنية ووعورة الأرض التي كلفة المشروع 35 مليون لتسويت الطريق المؤدي للمشروع مع عدم توفر الأيدي العاملة و المهندسين الزراعيين لبعد المشروع "مبينا "ان مدة استثمار المشروع هي 40 سنة قابلة للتمديد وبتكلفة تقدر بـ 248 مليون دولار .
يذكر ان محافظة النجف الاشرف الاستاذ عدنان عبد خضير ألزرفي قام بجولة تفقدية ميدانية بصحبة رئيس هيئة الاستثمار ومدير الموارد المائية وعدد من المسؤولين وأساتذة الكليات ومجموعة من الصحفيين والإعلاميين

6 hours ago/21/02/-12.

Is it the final curtain for the Fertile Crescent? This summer, as Turkish dams reduce the Tigris and Euphrates rivers to a trickle, farmers abandon their desiccated fields across Iraq and Syria, and efforts to revive the Mesopotamian marshes appear to be abandoned, climate modellers are warning that the current drought is likely to become permanent. The Mesopotamian cradle of civilisation seems to be returning to desert.

Last week, Iraqi ministers called for urgent talks with upstream neighbours Turkey and Syria, after the combination of a second year of drought and dams in those countries cut flow on the Euphrates as it enters Iraq to below 250 cubic metres a second. That is less than a quarter the flow needed to maintain Iraqi agriculture.

Tensions have been growing since May, when the Iraqi parliament refused to approve a new much-needed trade deal with Turkey unless it contained binding clauses on river flows. But Turkey appears in no mood to compromise. In July, it announced the final go-ahead for yet another dam, the Ilisu on the Tigris.

Meanwhile, according to Hassan Partow at the UN Environment Programme, Iraq's hydrological misery is compounded by Iran, which is also building new dams on tributaries of the Tigris. "Some of these rivers have run completely dry," he told New Scientist. And Iraq itself is set to worsen the problem with its own dam building, he says. This year construction is set to begin on another Tigris tributary at Bekhme Gorge in Iraq's northern province of Kurdistan. At 230 metres it will be one of the world's tallest dams.
Paradise lost

In ancient times, the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers through Iraq were bountiful – irrigating fields that sustained civilisations like Sumer and cities like Babylon. But the combination of drought, dams and Iraq's own desire to revive its agriculture is placing huge pressure on the last remnant of that bounty, the Mesopotamian marshes, which form where the Tigris and Euphrates meet and flow to the sea.

The marshes were deliberately drained by Saddam Hussein. But after 2003, there was an international effort to revive them.

The UN Environment Programme reported on progress until 2006, when the Iraqi water ministry took over monitoring. As concerns grew that the Iraqi government was once again diverting scarce water away from the marshes to maintain agriculture, reporting abruptly stopped. "The marshes are getting smaller," says Azzam Alwash, an Iraqi-American campaigner for their revival.

Drought has helped precipitate the crisis. The most detailed assessment of the Fertile Crescent's future under climate change suggests flow on the Euphrates could fall by 73 per cent. "The ancient Fertile Crescent will disappear in this century," forecasts Akio Kitoh of Japan's Meteorological Research Institute in Tsukuba, Japan. "The process has already begun."

[Correction: Sumeria changed to Sumer (29 July 2009)]
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17517-fertile-crescent-will-disappear-this-century.html

HAMBURG: The state Iraq Grain Board has purchased a total 300,000 tonnes of wheat all of Canadian origin in an international tender for a nominal 50,000 tonnes which closed on Tuesday, European traders said on Thursday.

Traders said 100,000 was purchased from Glencore at $356 a tonne C&F liner out, 50,000 tonnes from Louis Dreyfus at $361.22 a tonne C&F free out (ciffo), 50,000 tonnes from ADM at $361 ciffo and 100,000 tonnes wheat from Middle Eastern trader Jresat at $361 a tonne ciffo, traders said.

In its previous wheat tender reported on Feb. 22, Iraq bought 400,000 tonnes of Canadian wheat.


Copyright Reuters, 2012

V3FVKpL_ILY

Dutch Company willing to implement agricultural projects in Baghdad

Baghdad (AIN) -A Dutch company expressed its will to implement projects for the expansion of the green areas in Baghdad.

A statement by the municipality received by AIN, quoted the Acting Baghdad Mayor for Municipal affairs, as saying "This company has participated in Baghdad 4th International Festival for Flowers and surveyed Baghdad Municipality agribusiness," noting that "Then, the company stated its willingness to adopt projects to expand the green areas in the Iraqi capital."

The statement added "The Dutch Company and the Iraqi Parks and Landscapes Department are working on forming joint team to study aspects of bilateral cooperation, exchanging expertise, making use of up-to-date methods in establishing parks and amusement places and expanding the green lands."

Iraq Purchases 300,000 Tons of Wheat, 150,000 Tons of Rice

By Khalid Al-Ansary - Apr 26, 2012 5:16 PM GMT+0200- Bloomberg

Iraq bought 300,000 metric tons of wheat and 150,000 tons of rice, according to the country’s grain board.

The government bought 150,000 tons of Australian-grown wheat, 100,000 tons from Canada (http://topics.bloomberg.com/canada/) and 50,000 tons of Kazakh grain, Hassan Ibrahim, the board’s director general, said in a telephone interview from Baghdad (http://topics.bloomberg.com/baghdad/) today. The purchase followed a tender for 50,000 tons that expired April 15, he said.

Iraq bought the Thai-grown rice in a tender that expired April 22, Ibrahim said.

Havent seen soil salinity mentioned. Was able to find information about a couple of pilot projects aimed to improving drainage to decrease water-logging. Unfortunately, most of it was from 2010. If tasked aggressively, Iraq could see a significant increase in crop yields.

Sometimes I can't sleep at night because of all those dams being built on the tigris, the euphrates and their tributaries.

If only I could destroy all those dams...

Assassinate mesopotamia. How can they do that ?

They have no heart. Have you signed the unesco petition regarding this? We are over half way, please keep sharing it.

They have no heart. Have you signed the unesco petition regarding this? We are over half way, please keep sharing it.

Thanks ! I didn't now that petition.I'll sign it.

Often I compare the color of the nile delta and the color of the tigris/euphrate valley on google earth.

The nile valley looks so damn green i comparison.... There's no reason for iraq not being as green.

Thanks ! I didn't now that petition.I'll sign it.

Often I compare the color of the nile delta and the color of the tigris/euphrate valley on google earth.

The nile valley looks so damn green i comparison.... There's no reason for iraq not being as green.

Your welcome. Yes your right! Its a big shame! Its good that the Nile does not go through much other countries who are hostile and ignorant about such great rivers. The Euphrates and Tigris where once like that MANY years ago, now its up to the government to show us how much they really care about their land.

The introduction of commercial strawberry production in Iraq has been a satisfying success. Following the initial introduction of certified nursery stock to a few trial growers in 2009, the production of strawberries in the country has enjoyed annual growth well in excess of 100% each season. Why has it been such a success and why strawberry and not another crop?
Strawberry production is a special development tool for several reasons. First, it’s a high value crop yielding nearly unmatched gross revenues on a per hectare basis. Farmers with very small land holdings can earn an impressive income on a modestly sized parcel. And the turnaround on investment is very short. An Iraqi farmer can plant in October and complete his season by May or June, effectively earning his return on investment in less than a year.
Managed properly, some plantings are good producers the following season. Certainly the labor requirement is substantial but in the absence of other employment opportunities, farm jobs are of great benefit to a community or extended family.
But strawberries are not an easy crop to grow, harvest and market. The crop is management and labor intensive. Attracted by the financial reward of growing this valuable crop, farmers learn to manage valuable techniques and practices they can apply to the production of other crops; drip irrigation, fertigation, the use of plastic mulch for weed control and effective post-harvest handling and marketing are examples.
Iraq is not the first economy to benefit from the introduction of strawberry production as a development tool. It has been used as a licit substitute crop in Colombia, the Cochabamba region of Bolivia and the golden triangle in Southeast Asia. Even today in Northern California we see Hmong refugees establishing themselves on tiny parcels of land with strawberry production. One can only imagine why some of the most successful strawberry growers in California are of Japanese descent.

Iraq Buys 250,000 Metric Tons Of Wheat, Grain Board’s Aziz Says
Iraq bought 250,000 metric tons of wheat from Australia, Russia, and Canada, the country’s grain board spokesman, Amer Abdel-Aziz, said.
The purchase comprised 100,000 tons of Australian wheat, 100,000 tons of Russian wheat and 50,000 tons of Canadian wheat, Aziz said by telephone today. He didn’t specify the purchase price or when the shipments will arrive.
Glencore International Plc (GLEN) will supply 100,000 metric tons of Australian wheat and 50,000 metric tons of Russian wheat, Olam International Ltd. (OLAM) will provide 50,000 metric tons of Russian wheat and Viterra Inc. (VT) will supply 50,000 metric tons of Canadian wheat, Aziz said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-17/iraq-buys-250-000-metric-tons-of-wheat-grain-board-s-aziz-says.html

I have a question regarding Turkish's policy concerning the water problems in Iraq. Why is Turkey fighting us by closing their Dams? I mean in the long-term they'll not have a good relationship with Iraq, which is the case already.

Turkey wants to develop south east anatolia by increasing farmed land and increased electricity production. For them this is more important than keeping Iraq happy. The only way Iraq could influence turkey is to close the border with Turkey completely.

The only way Iraq could influence turkey is to close the border with Turkey
So why do we not do it? We can find other investors than turkey-.-

I've said it before already. Turkey/Iran/Syria allows less water through to increase farming and electricity use for industry... the reason they increase that farming/electricity use is to fulfill Iraqi market demand! Iraqis are shooting themselves every time they buy produce from "upstream" countries Iran, Syria, Turkey...

I've said it before already. Turkey/Iran/Syria allows less water through to increase farming and electricity use for industry... the reason they increase that farming/electricity use is to fulfill Iraqi market demand! Iraqis are shooting themselves every time they buy produce from "upstream" countries Iran, Syria, Turkey...

What's the potential with desalination plants? Could we, in principle, meet our water needs through that?

Yeah but you said that we can influence turkey by closing our borders. Why do we not do close our borders.

So why do we not do it? We can find other investors than turkey-.-

Turkey has been winning massive contracts in recent years. I'm not sure if it's a good idea to use that to twist their arms, but given the economic climate, I doubt it will discourage others. It's not like South Korea will fear political problems with us. It might just mean we don't get as good a deal with less market competition.

Basically, if we are going to use the market to push politics, now is a good time to do it - while the dogs are fighting for scraps.

Can't we just blend Oxygen and Hydrogen then we'll get water in our rivers? xD

Can't we just blend Oxygen and Hydrogen then we'll get water in our rivers? xD

Blend? You mean burn hydrogen? Where are we going to get that much hydrogen?

Blend? You mean burn hydrogen? Where are we going to get that much hydrogen?
Yeah to mix/blend hydrogen and oxygen together with the help of electro sparking to make water. I think hydrogen is cheap? Or through a chemical reaction aswell. Ok maybe this is a ridiculous idea xD

Yeah to mix/blend hydrogen and oxygen together with the help of electro sparking to make water. I think hydrogen is cheap? Or through a chemical reaction aswell. Ok maybe this is a ridiculous idea xD

the electrical spark sets off the burn. Water is just burnt hydrogen. But the supply of hydrogen is the issue. Hydrogen needs to be extracted from compounds (probably by electrolysis of water in most cases), unless you're in space...

to be honest we should ditch much of our canal systems and go over to modern irrigation techniques. the turkish consul in basra is right in a way... we do waste MOST of the water we have!

Yeah but you said that we can influence turkey by closing our borders. Why do we not do close our borders.

KRG controls the border.

KRG controls the border.

Oh i forgot.

good news.

The KRG’s Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources had decided to ban the importation of more vegetables and fruit in order to boost the local production, reports AKnews.
From the beginning of July it will impose the ban on sunflower seeds, watermelon, melon and eggplant, said Nuri Ismael, loan and marketing director at the Ministry.
He said the ban on importing sunflower seeds is “permanent” and for melon it will last till 31st July. For watermelon and eggplant the ban lasts until the middle of October.
The Ministry had already announced that it will ban the importation of cucumber, fig, peach and other produce into Kurdistan.

great news!

good news.

The KRG’s Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources had decided to ban the importation of more vegetables and fruit in order to boost the local production, reports AKnews.
From the beginning of July it will impose the ban on sunflower seeds, watermelon, melon and eggplant, said Nuri Ismael, loan and marketing director at the Ministry.
He said the ban on importing sunflower seeds is “permanent” and for melon it will last till 31st July. For watermelon and eggplant the ban lasts until the middle of October.
The Ministry had already announced that it will ban the importation of cucumber, fig, peach and other produce into Kurdistan.

^^ Like :)

Scientists search for solutions to Iraq's salty farmland

BAGHDAD - The high level of salt threatening two-thirds of Iraq's irrigated farmland — as well as many other countries — is being targeted by a group of Iraqi and international researchers and policymakers.

http://www.scidev.net/en/agriculture-and-environment/farming-practices/news/scientists-search-for-solutions-to-iraq-s-salty-farmland.html

Iraqi Mushroom Farm Reopens

23 July 2012, by John Lee.
Out of tragedy has come triumph for the Khirbit family and the Hameediyah Mushroom Farm, once one of the largest mushroom farms in the middle east.
The family revived their business after receiving a grant and technical assistance from the USAID-Inma Agribusiness Program.

NtlnVHwt6oQ&feature=player_embedded

المالكي يؤكد على ضرورة ايجاد حلول جذرية لموضوع شحة المياه
كد رئيس الوزراء نوري المالكي على ضرورة ايجاد حلول جذرية لموضوع شحة المياه والعمل على وضع سياسية عامة في هذا المجال تخفف من حدة النقص الحاصل في المياه .
ودعا المالكي خلال اجتماع للجنة العليا للمبادرة الزراعية بحضور وزيري الزراعة والموارد المائية ورئيس هيئة المستشارين ، الى انتداب خبرات اجنبية تضع خطة شاملة لمعالجة موضوع المياه ، ابتداء من تغيير اساليب الري التقليدية وتطويرها وانشاء السدود ،وكيفية الاستفادة من المياه الجوفية ، بالإضافة الى اختيار المحاصيل الزراعية المناسبة لطبيعة العراق المناخية ، اضافة الى ضرورة الاستمرار بدعم صناعة التمور والعمل على تطويرهذا الدعم بما يحقق اعلى فائدة للمزارع والفلاح وليس الوسطاء وخلص الاجتماع الى تشكيل لجنة لاختيار الشركة القادرة على وضع الحلول الناجعة للتخفيف من حدة نقص المياه والتحرك على الدول المجاورة سيما تركيا ، وايران لتامين حصة العراق من المصادر المائية .
http://www.alfayhaa.tv/news/economy/85903.html

feed shortage slashes poultry farm output in Iraq by more than half


By Ali Shattab, Azzaman, August 13, 2012

Feed shortages have reduced Iraq’s poultry output and may threaten the industry with collapse, said state-run Company for Animal Wealth Services.

The company’s Director General Musdiq Dalphi attributed the crisis to the disturbances in Syria, which are preventing the flow of feeds to the country.

Dalphi said Iraq imported more than 60% of poultry feed from Syria and the crisis there has resulted in a total halt in imports.

The imports from Syria were much cheaper than other countries and their halt has led to substantial hikes in poultry produce and animal feed, he said.

“Currently, Iraqi poultry farms can hardly meet 25% of domestic needs,” he said.

The company, Dalphi said, has sent a plan to the Ministry of Agriculture with details on how to replace imports from Syria.

Without large subsidies it is almost impossible to supply Iraqi poultry farmers with feed that is as cheap as that imported from Syria.

There are 7,000 poultry farms in Iraq but they still have a long way to go to meet domestic demand for chicken and table eggs.

Currently Iraq imports large quantities of chicken and eggs to meet domestic demand.

Iraqi wheat produce largest in 30 years

By Ali Shattab, Azzaman, August 14, 2012

Government silos are brimming with wheat as this year’s harvest has surpassed expectations, The Director General of Iraq Grain Board Amer Abdulaziz said.

Abdulaziz said despite discouraging weather conditions Iraqi farmers have shipped 1.9 million tons of wheat to government silos.

“The yields are the largest in 30 years,” he said.

Abdulaziz said marketing the volume, which is huge in Iraqi terms, went on smoothly and covered the three autonomous Kurdish provinces despite tension between the Kurdish region and the central government in Baghdad.

At one point this month the Kurds mobilized their militias known as peshmerga to defend their territory against what they said was a possible incursion by Iraqi troops.

The quality of the harvest was “extremely good,” Abdul Aziz said, adding that farmers had started using modern techniques to improve their produce.

The volume falls short of Iraq’s domestic needs estimated at four million tons a year, but it indicates progress and reliance on irrigation rather than rain.

Yields in the rain-fed areas, particularly the Mosul plateau, traditionally known as Iraq’s bread basket, were very low, Abdulaziz said.

Despite the good news about wheat yields this year, the volume of barely shipped to government silos was much below expectations.

Abdulaziz gave no figures but attributed the decline to farmers’ unwillingness to sell to government, preferring to sell their barley on the open market where they could fetch better prices.

A ton of barley is worth up to 700,000 Iraqi dinars (approx.. $600) while the government has set the official price at 500,000 Iraqi dinars (approx. $400).

Iraq’s Wheat Production Advanced 7% In 2011-12 From Year Earlier


Bloomberg- By Khalid Al-Ansary - Aug 15, 2012

Iraq’s wheat output rose 7 percent to 3 million metric tons in the 2011-12 season compared with the previous year, according to a planning ministry spokesman.

The country produced 2.8 million tons in the 2010- 11 season, Abdul Zahra al-Hindawi said by phone in Baghdad.

Iraq consumes an 4.5 million tons of wheat a year on average, according to the Iraqi Grain Board. The country had to import the grain after drought in the last three years.

Iraq needs to create and forestation to attract rain and lower the Urban heat island effect... most of the soil in Iraq are solid and the sun makes it worst. I will make a thread on this later. I really need to release my ideas that I love to share with you all.

Iraq needs to create and forestation to attract rain and lower the Urban heat island effect... most of the soil in Iraq are solid and the sun makes it worst. I will make a thread on this later. I really need to release my ideas that I love to share with you all.

Welcome to the forum sister.

It's very nice to have an Assyrian - an ancient Semetic people native to Iraq, around here.:)

I have long had similar thoughts and I know that many other Iraqis have that as well. Even posted some ideas on this forum. I would be very curious to hear your ideas. Please do not hold back.

I am as well interested in fighting desertification. It's the main problem. Not to mention the rivers and lakes which are drying out.

The marshes should also be brought back to their old state as well as all the palm trees that have disappeared. It's really a big crime.

an ancient Semetic people native to Iraq, around here.
ROFL!

Welcome to the forum sister.

It's very nice to have an Assyrian - an ancient Semetic people native to Iraq, around here.:)

I have long had similar thoughts and I know that many other Iraqis have that as well. Even posted some ideas on this forum. I would be very curious to hear your ideas. Please do not hold back.

I am as well interested in fighting desertification. It's the main problem. Not to mention the rivers and lakes which are drying out.

The marshes should also be brought back to their old state as well as all the palm trees that have disappeared. It's really a big crime.

I just started a thread.. It's called Iraqi tree hugger

ارتفاع صادرات التمور في البصرة

23.08.2012

البصرة-ماجد البريكان
قالت السلطات المحلية في مدينة البصرة إن مستوى تصدير التمور عبر مينائي أبو فلوس والمعقل ارتفع في الآونة الأخيرة، وأشارت إلى أن دولة الإمارات كانت المستورد الأول للتمور العراقية.

وقال أنمار الصافي مدير قسم العلاقات والإعلام في الشركة العامة للموانئ التي يقع مقرها في البصرة لـ"راديو سوا" إن آلاف الأطنان من التمور تم تصديرها إلى دولة الإمارات.
كما قال نقيب المهندسين الزراعيين في البصرة علاء البدران إن معظم التمور التي تصدر من نوع (الزهدي)، وأكد أن الدول التي تستورد التمور العراقية تقوم بتعليبها أو تغليفها ومن ثم تعيد تصديرها إلى الأسواق العراقية.

ويذكر أن العراق يعد أحد أكبر الدول المنتجة للتمور في العالم على الرغم من تدهور زراعة النخيل في السنوات الأخيرة.

وكانت البصرة حتى أواخر السبعينات تعتمد في جانب من اقتصادها على زراعة النخيل وتصدير التمور.

الزراعة: خمس مراحل لمتابعة مشاريع الاقراض الزراعية
كشفت وزارة الزراعة عن أن هناك خمسَ مراحلَ يتم من خلالها متابعة ُ مشاريع ِ الاقراض الزراعية المنفذة في البلاد، مبينة أن الاجراءات ِ التي تتبعها الوزارة محكمة ٌ ويمكنها الحد من انحراف المشاريع عن جدواها الاقتصادية.
وقال الوكيل الفني للوزارة مهدي ضمد القيسي إن الحديث عن وجود ِ حالات ِ فساد ٍ وتلاعب ٍ من قبل المزارعين بمبالغ الاقراض الزراعية مبالغ فيه وتضخيم اعلامي، مبينا أن هناك جملة ً من الاجراءات تعتمدُها الوزارة لمَنْح ِ الأقراض ومراقبته, واضاف القيسي أن الاقراض َ يبدأ من الشعبة الزراعية ثم تنتقل المعاملة الى المديرية بعدها الى وزارة الزراعة مرفقة بالجدوى الاقتصادية للمشروع حيث اللجنة الرئيسة التي تَدرسُ المشروع وتُعطي الموافقة بالقرض على شكل دفعات بعد القناعة , مؤكدا ان بعد صدور ِ قرار الاقراض تتولى لجنة يرأسها موظف بدرجة مدير عام وعضوية المصرف الزراعي بالاطلاع ميدانيا للتأكد من جدوى المشروع الاقتصادية، ثم تتولى لجنة برئاسة مدير الزراعة مسؤولية المتابعة الميدانية للمشروع واذا انحرف عن جدواه الاقتصادية سيتم ايقاف القرض والطلب بتسديد ما تم استلامه.
التعليقات (0 تعليقات سابقة):
http://www.alfayhaa.tv/news/economy/87144.html

Iraq Blames Iran for Drying of Alwand River, May Turn to UN
29 Aug 2012 - 00:00 by OOSKAnews Correspondent

Iraq, BAGHDAD — The Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources is accusing neighboring Iran of using the Alwand River in a way “that harms Iraqi interests.”

Iraqi water officials say Iran has established a number of projects on the river that negatively affect the flow of water into Iraqi lands.

According to Kurdistan media outlet Rudaw (28th August), Iraqi Trade Minister Dr. Khairullah Babekir refused to sign an agreement with Iran last week in protest of their drying of the river.

“Iran has been abusing Alwand River of late, and this is detrimental to Iraqi agricultural lands,” said Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Mohannad al Saadi.

“Iranian authorities did not tell us the reasons behind cutting the river’s waters. The Iraqi foreign ministry has requested explanations from the Iranian foreign ministry,” he added.

According to Iraqi officials, Iran completely cut off water supply from the river as of last month.

The issue has been raised in vain during joint meetings, al Saadi said.

Alwand River is one of the 30 tributaries of the Tigris originating in Iran. Decreasing water levels in the 50-kilometer-long river have caused destruction of large areas of agricultural land in the city of Khanqin.

Iraqi officials say Iran built many dams on those tributaries and changed their course, thus depriving Iraq of its share of water.

The Iraqi government in May established a higher water council to manage the country’s national and regional water resources. The new council is charged with drafting a national water resources strategy.

It is also expected to adopt policies aimed at pressuring Iran, Syria and Turkey to “respect Iraq’s water rights,” according to officials.

One of the options the new body will consider is bringing Iraq’s water disputes to international organizations.

Iraq could turn to the United Nations to get “its fair share of water from upstream countries.”

Meanwhile, al Saadi revealed last week that the ministry is studying the possibility of hiring foreign companies to develop a plan for the country’s water resources.

“Like many Arab countries, we will seek the expertise of specialized foreign companies,” he said.

Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki had also recently suggested hiring a foreign company to help the country with water resources management.
http://www.ooskanews.com/daily-water-briefing/iraq-blames-iran-drying-alwand-river-may-turn-un_24077

'MAY' turn to UN? The fuck you waiting for? We will not get any result from Iran...

_IupdPraxQs&feature

التقرير فيه مغالطة
عدد النخيل حاليا يتجاوز ال15 مليون نخلة وليس 9 ملايين

_IupdPraxQs&feature

:ohno:

Iraq issues tender for at least 50,000 T of wheat
BAGHDAD: Iraq has issued a tender for at least 50,000 tonnes of wheat from any origin, with a closing date of Sept. 16, a source at the Iraqi trade ministry said on Thursday.
Offers should be valid until Sept. 20, the source said.
Iraq is one of the world's largest importers of wheat, much of which goes to supply a massive national food ration programme
http://www.brecorder.com/markets/commodities/middle-east-a-africa/77670-iraq-issues-tender-for-at-least-50000-t-of-wheat-.html

Agriculture Committee calls to stick to specific pricing for strategic crops
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) -The Parliamentary Agriculture, Waters, marshes Committee plans to submit “A request to the Advisors board within the Council of Ministers to increase the prices of the main agrarian crops.”

The Agriculture Committee’s Rapporteur, Itab al-Dori assured “I will participate in the workshop held by the Advisors board in the Cabinet headquarter under title “Support Strategic crops” wheat, barley, rice and all types of dates.

“We will ask the Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, and the Agriculture Minister, Izzeldin al-Dawla to increase the prices of the strategic crops of wheat, barley, rice and all kinds of dates,” She added.

“The Committee presented, on last year, a suitable pricing for wheat and barley crops; Dori added confirming “If this pricing were adopted, then they could ease the difficulties facing the farmers as it participates in lifting their standard of living,”

“We intend to submit this pricing again to the Parliament for voting,” she concluded.
http://www.iraqinews.com/business-iraqi-dinar/agriculture-committee-calls-to-stick-to-specific-pricing-for-strategic-crops/

Nineveh starts cleaning Tigris River
Nineveh, Mosul (IraqiNews.com) -Nineveh Governorate has stopped all the projects which can opposes the implementation of cleaning Tigris river.

The Governor of Nineveh, Ethel al-Nijaifi, mentioned in press statement to IraqiNews.com that ”All the related directorates were instructed to stop any project that can oppose with the process of cleaning Tigris river.”

The statement added that ”Nineveh Governor hold a meeting, with the Municipality Departments, Ministry of Agriculture, Architectural Planning Department, Sunni Endowment, Real Estate Department and Ministry of Water Resources to discuss all the problems which are related to the works f cleaning Tigers River.”

Nijaifi stressed that ”All departments should cooperate to solve all pending problems so that after accomplishing the cleaning of Tigris River we can establish green areas can be suitable to be invested for tourism projects including water accessories and other projects that serve the people in Nineveh province.” \

Many irrigation projects implemented in Najaf
Najaf (IraqiNews.com) -The Directorate of Projects Maintenance (DPM) within the Ministry of Water Resources in Najaf province assured completing a number of irrigation projects.

The Director of the DPM, Abdul Ridha Meri, stated to IraqiNews.com on Saturday “The DPM implemented, early in this year, a plan to open water cannels and cleaning rivers of (420) km to prepare for the agricultural season in Najaf.” /End

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IQD 25 billion allocated to support agricultural sector in Babel

Babel (IraqiNews.com) -The head of the Agricultural Commission within Babel Provincial Council, Amir al-Murshidi announced allocating IQD 25 billion to develop the agricultural sector in Babel province.

Murshidi stated to IraqiNews.com on Friday “The earlier mentioned sum was allocated from Regions Development budget to support the agrarian sector in the province.”

THEY SHOULD HAVE DONE THAT AGES AGO. AND FOR ALL IRAQI PROVINCES! THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR HAS BEEN IN A DIRE STATE FOR YERAS IF NOT DECADES. IRAQI FARMERS DO NOT DESERVE SUCH A TREATMENT!

We should eat our own products instead of importing cheap products from Ajam or Turkey which is destroying our agricultural sector.

Romania offers cheapest wheat rates in Iraq's tender
The lowest offer in Iraq's tender this week to purchase a nominal 50,000 tonnes of wheat was for Romanian wheat at $394 a tonne cif free out, European traders said on Monday. The offer was for 50,000 tonnes. The tender had closed on Sunday November 18 and offers must be valid until Thursday, November 22.

The next lowest offer was for 50,000 tonnes of Russian wheat at 399 a tonne cif free out, traders said. Volumes in Iraq's wheat tenders are traditionally nominal and the country often buys more than it tenders for. "Despite hopes that the United States will win more export business as Russia and Ukraine sell out, offers of US wheat in the tender were modest in volume and considerably higher than other origins," one European trader said.

Two offers each of 50,000 tonnes of US-origin wheat were made in the tender, one at $444.04 a tonne c&f free out and the other at $454 a tonne cif liner out, traders said. Free out and liner out terms have different provisions for ship unloading. A total 150,000 tonnes of Russian wheat was offered despite belief Russian export supplies are due to sell out soon after the country's poor crop this summer. No offers were made for wheat from Ukraine or Germany, traders said.

"Canada and Australian wheat dominated the offers in terms of tonnage," a trader said. "I would expect a mixed origin purchase, I do not think the United States has a realistic chance." "Russia is still not quite out of the export scene yet and other Black Sea supplies are still cheap." Traders said offers for a total 400,000 tonnes of Australian wheat were made to Iraq mostly at between $401 to 407.65 a tonne cif free out.

Offers were made for a total 300,000 tonnes of Canadian wheat mostly at between $404.95 to $425 a tonne cif liner out. Low offers were also seen from some other eastern European Union origins. Bulgarian wheat was offered at $402 a tonne cif free out and Hungarian wheat at $406 a tonne cif free out, traders said.

Picture: МЗХ Iraq interested in Bulgarian agricultural products, fertilizers and equipment
23 November 2012 | 18:24 | FOCUS News Agency
Home / Business
Sofia. A meeting has been held on Friday between some of the members of the Iraqi Agriculture Ministry’s delegation and Bulgarian agriculture business, announced the press center of the Bulgarian Ministry of Agriculture and Food.
The Bulgarian Greenhouse Growers’ Association, National Association of Sheep-Breeders, Association of Buffalo-Breeders in Bulgaria, National Cattle-Breeding Union and National Union of Gardeners in Bulgaria presented their activities. Private companies in the area of irrigation, agricultural machinery and greenhouse produce took part as well.
Iraq is interested in the import of live animals and local products – mainly poultry and mutton, agricultural produce, fodder and agricultural fertilizers. The Iraqi delegation noted also their country’s need in the irrigation of cereal crops, construction and maintenance of greenhouses, import of fruit and vegetables and agricultural machinery.
© 2012 All rights reserved. Reproducing this website’s contents requires obligatory reference to FOCUS Information Agency!
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Iraq to export agricultural products in five years
25-07-2012 - 01:22

Business
Iraqi Agriculture Ministry pledged, on Tuesday, that it will be exporting strategic agricultural products in five years noting that Iraq is currently self-content of agricultural products such as fruits and vegetables, with the exception of products not produced locally.

“Agriculture Ministry is currently executing projects such as modern irrigation techniques that were imported from abroad, and distributed for farmers and agriculturists,” Agriculture Ministry representative Ghazi Al Aboudi told Alsumarianews assuring that, in five years and as soon as projects are finished, Iraq will become a country exporting strategic agricultural products.

“Through its agricultural initiative, the ministry achieved major results in increasing to good levels Iraq’s agricultural production after it was almost absent in the past,” Aboudi revealed noting that local production of wheat increased to cover 58% of local market needs.

“The ministry increased by 50% the production of red meat, white meat and eggs, and by 25% the production of rice,” Aboudi added stressing that the ministry is working on increasing this year’s production of wheat to 3 million tons scoring an increase of 500 thousand tons in comparison with last year.

“Agriculture Ministry managed to develop wheat, rice and corn seeds that handle salinity and require smaller quantities of water,” Aboudi advanced pointing up that Iraq achieved self-content of all fruits and vegetables, with the exception of products not produced locally.

Iraq seeks to increase wheat production
ECONOMY | 2012-11-30
The Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture last week began planting new fields with wheat under a national programme that aims increase the productivity of this strategic crop within the next 10 years.

Among other activities, this programme helps supply farmers with seeds, fertilisers and agricultural equipment, and introduces farming methods and varieties intended to increase crop yield, ministry spokesperson Kareem al-Tamimi told Mawtani.

Farmers are planting new high-yield varieties and others that are saline- and drought-resistant, and officials are studying their vulnerability to agricultural pests and diseases, al-Tamimi said.

By establishing field schools for farmers, the ministry also is providing field training on modern wheat-production techniques and how to use water resources optimally, he said.

"Thanks to the support the ministry gave the farmers [through this programme], wheat production began following an upward trajectory, as we were able during the last agricultural season to raise the per capita output in some areas to more than one tonne per dunam," al-Tamimi said, adding that now, around 60% of the country's demand for wheat is being met.

WORKING SIDE-BY-SIDE
The overall production of wheat in Iraq rose from less than 1.5 million tonnes in previous seasons to about 2 million tonnes this season, according to al-Tamimi.

Iraq will need to produce about 3 million tonnes a year to achieve self-sufficiency -- one of the programme goals -- and will afterwards have the capacity to export the crop, he said.

"Our programme aims to raise the annual production rate of wheat from 400 to 800 kilogrammes per dunam," said Dr. Abdul Kareem Hamad Hassan, the programme's executive director. "It also aims at increasing the total areas planted with wheat."

Last season, he told Mawtani, farmers planted an additional 130,000 dunams of wheat in five provinces: Wasit, Diwaniyah, Kirkuk, Mosul and Anbar. This season, planted areas expanded to a total area of 630,000 dunams, with two additional provinces, Salaheddine and Muthanna, taking part in the programme.

"In each agricultural season, we shall try to increase those areas by about 500,000 dunams, so that by the tenth year of the programme, we [will be planting] about 5 million dunams in all the provinces to attain self-sufficiency and return Iraq to its previous status as wheat exporter, like it used to be in the 1950s," Hassan said.

"The programme's experts are now working side-by-side with farmers, giving them advice and instructions on how to plant their land," he said, adding that the ministry is also working on providing participating farmers with fertilisers and pesticides free of charge.

"In previous years, Iraq used to suffer from low productivity rates of wheat per dunam due to lack and misuse of water resources and because of the weak support provided by the government," said Adel al-Mukhtar, adviser to the parliament's water and agriculture committee.

But since implementing the wheat development programme, when officials introduced farmers to modern irrigation techniques, supported them with fertilisers and seeds, and increased the number of planted areas, "productivity started to go up", he said.

Iraq should be capable to be self sufficient in many agriculture areas.

الأنبار تباشر بتنفيذ مشروع الاستفادة من مياه الأمطار والمياه الجوفية

2012-12-07 سيف أحمد من الأنبار

باشر مجلس محافظة الأنبار الأسبوع الماضي بتنفيذ مشروع كبير للاستفادة من مياه الأمطار التي تتساقط في فصل الشتاء الحالي للحد من نقص المياه وظاهرة التصحر في المحافظة، بحسب مسؤولين.

وقال الدكتور جاسم الحلبوسي، رئيس مجلس محافظة الأنبار، في حديث لموطني إن مجموعة شركات حكومية ومحلية مختصة باشرت بمشروع الاستفادة من مياه الأمطار التي تتجمع في السهول والوديان في المحافظة.

وأوضح أن المشروع يتضمن إنشاء ثلاث بحيرات اصطناعية، مساحة كل واحدة منها تسعة كيلومتر مربع موزعة في مناطق القائم وصحراء الرحالية وهيت وناحية الصقلاوية لجمع المياه فيها.

وتابع "كما يتضمن المشروع إنشاء سبعة خزانات واسعة بمناطق مختلفة من اقضية ونواحي الأنبار، مع التركيز على المناطق الصحراوية والزراعية، وذلك لتوفير كميات من مياه السقي للمزروعات ولحقول الأغنام والماشية".

وأكد أن المشروع "يهدف إلى الاستفادة من مياه الأمطار والمياه الجوفية وعدم هدر الثروة الطبيعية التي تتكون من ظروف مناخية جيدة في فصل الشتاء، للحد من نقص المياه وتوفير خزين كبير لفصل الصيف القادم".

من جهته، قال المهندس عبير كاظم، المشرف على إنجاز مشاريع المنطقة الغربية من دائرة الزراعة في الأنبار، إن "المشروع يتضمن إنشاء أنهر ومبازل تنقل المياه المجمعة لتصب في البحيرات الاصطناعية، إضافة إلى هدم وطمر الأنهر غير المفيدة والتي تشكل هدرا للثروة المائية".

وأضاف كاظم في حديث لموطني أن "المياه التي سيتم جمعها ستصرف بطرق مدروسة يحسب فيها الكميات التي تتبخر جراء الظروف الطبيعية ومعدل حاجة كل منطقة زراعية وواحات رعي الاغنام، لضمان ديمومة المياه دون انقطاع ليكون المشروع من أهم الخطوات العلمية للحد من نقص المياه والقضاء على ظاهرة التصحر في مدن الأنبار".

وأوضح كاظم "سيتم تنفيذ ثلاثة خطوط من الأشجار حول المناطق الصحراوية الواسعة في الأنبار من نباتات وأشجار دائمة الخضرة وأخرى تقاوم ظروف الطبيعية تسقى من مياه يتم جمعها من الامطار المتساقطة والمياه الجوفية لتكون مصد طبيعي للعواصف الترابية وتحد من حركة الرمال المتحركة".

استصلاح أراضي صحراوية

بدوره، قال المهندس بركات جابر، المسؤول على متابعة المشروع، لموطني "تم تكريس كافة الجهود وتوفير المستلزمات والدعم المادي واللوجستي للشركات المنفذة والمؤسسات الساندة لإنجاح المشروع وإنجازه في مدة أقل من ثلاثة أشهر".

وأكد أن "المشروع سيشمل إنشاء 13 محطة لتحلية المياه في المناطق الصحراوية والزراعية لسد أي نقص في مياه الشرب بمدن الأنبار"، مضيفا أن "هذه المحطات ستعمل بالطاقة الشمسية". وأشار إلى أنه يشمل أيضا "استصلاح أكثر من 7193 دونما من المناطق القريبة من أقضية ونواحي الأنبار للحد من ظاهرة التصحر والكثبان الرملية في فصول الصيف".

ولفت إلى أنه سيتم دراسة واقع الحال والظروف التي قد تظهر حاجة لإضافة مشروع جديد.

http://mawtani.al-shorfa.com/ar/articles/iii/features/2012/12/07/feature-01?change_locale=true

The last and bold part is the most interesting one.

Romanian wheat cheapest in Iraq's 350,000 T wheat buy

Tuesday, 11 December 2012 14:06 Posted by Asad Naeem

HAMBURG: Romanian wheat was cheapest in the 350,000 tonne purchase of Romanian and Australian wheat in an international tender from Iraq's state grains board reported on Monday, European traders said on Tuesday.

Traders said 50,000 tonnes of Romanian wheat was purchased at $404 a tonne CIF free out.

Of the Australian wheat, some 50,000 tonnes was bought at $413.50 a tonne CFR free out, 100,000 tonnes at $409.47 a tonne CFR free out and 150,000 tonnes at $407.00 CIF free out, traders said.

Other trade sources said that the 50,000 tonne Australian consignment may have been priced at $409.10 a tonne CIF liner out.

Free out and liner out terms have differing provisions for the cost of ship unloading.

Copyright Reuters, 2012

علن رئيس لجنة الصحة والبيئة في مجلس محافظة ميسان ميثم لفته الفرطوسي عن تحويل أراض كانت صحراوية قاحلة إلى أراض زراعية من قبل آمر اللواء الواحد والأربعين العميد الركن ستار جبار كاظم الغزي وبالتعاون مع لجنة الصحة والبيئة في مجلس المحافظة.

وقال الفرطوسي في بيان صحفي تلقت وكالة {الفرات نيوز} نسخة منه اليوم الاحد ان "الشعور بالبيئة الصحية ثقافة يجب أن يمتلكها الجميع وان هذا العمل هو تطبيق واقعي لتحسين البيئة حيث قام هذا القائد العسكري بزراعة أكثر من {100 دونم} من الأراضي المحيطة بمقره من محصول الحنطة والشعير وكذلك تشجير المنطقة بعدة أنواع من الشُجيرات تتجاوز الـ1500 نبتة وعمل بحيرات صناعية لتربية الأسماك".

ودعا كل الجهات و مدراء الدوائر والموطنين الى "تشجير الأراضي التي يعملون أو التي يسكنون فيها سواء في داخل أو خارج المدن لما تضيفه هذه العملية من تحسين وتلطيف للأجواء وجمالية المناطق وكذلك ادعو وزارتي الزراعة والبيئة الى تطبيق مشروع الحزام الأخضر والذي يُحيط بالمحافظة ويمنع عنها العواصف الترابية وخاصة في فصل الربيع والصيف ولو بشكل نسبي".

يذكر إن درجات الحرارة تزايدت بشكل ملحوظ في الأعوام الأخيرة وذلك بسبب التصحر الكبير الذي غزا البلاد.http://www.wasat.info/news.php?action=view&id=4412

While they might not completely satisfy the Middle East vegetarian, Iraq’s Kurds have found a lucrative new way to cash in on year-round crops, which require no chemicals or pesticides: they have turned to mushroom farming, reports the local paper rudaw.

In the Kurdistan region of Iraq vegetarians could only get natural mushrooms in the spring. Now the locals are excited: Mariwan Ali, who advocates a vegetarian diet, according to the paper, has an easy answer for those who ask him, if we don’t eat meat, what should we eat? “Eat mushrooms,” he says. “Mushrooms compensate for meat.”

Local growers are also interested in opening mushroom restaurants to help cultivate a taste for the food which is still considered relatively exotic in Iraq.

The whole business of mushroom farming in Iraq hit the news last year when the Iraq Business newspaper reported the country’s first mushroom farm in Mosul. They grow wild in Iran, but are still considered an exotic food. The farm was first started in 2009 by Majeed Hamid Sallal and located in Ras al-Jadda neighborhood of the northern Iraqi city and it is considered one of the country’s most innovative agricultural projects.

“But growing mushrooms requires special conditions,” he told the business newspaper. “And for these reasons they thought that my project would fail. Nobody encouraged me to carry on.”

Following international standards for growing white mushrooms, he first studied the growing techniques in Aleppo, Syria where mushrooms have been growing successfully. Although mushrooms require no pesticides to grow, they do need to be sterilized to avoid harmful bacteria that might be lurking in the compost.

And what is particularly special about Sallal’s mushroom project is that it’s one hundred percent local – except for the seeds which are bought internationally. Most Middle Eastern countries rely on international aid and expertise for novel agriculture projects these days.

Located in Ninewa, Iraw’s wheat and barley producing region, the region is also known as Nineveh, a city mentioned in the Bible – where Jonah was to go and make people repent. This was after escaping the mouth of the whale. (magic truffles anyone?)

This place may seem magical in many ways and with water shortages, mushroom farming may be the future of this biblical region. Plus mushrooms are a great source of vitamin D.

Mushroom farm in China via Ivan Walsh

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While they might not completely satisfy the Middle East vegetarian, Iraq’s Kurds have found a lucrative new way to cash in on year-round crops, which require no chemicals or pesticides: they have turned to mushroom farming, reports the local paper rudaw.

In the Kurdistan region of Iraq vegetarians could only get natural mushrooms in the spring. Now the locals are excited: Mariwan Ali, who advocates a vegetarian diet, according to the paper, has an easy answer for those who ask him, if we don’t eat meat, what should we eat? “Eat mushrooms,” he says. “Mushrooms compensate for meat.”

Local growers are also interested in opening mushroom restaurants to help cultivate a taste for the food which is still considered relatively exotic in Iraq.

The whole business of mushroom farming in Iraq hit the news last year when the Iraq Business newspaper reported the country’s first mushroom farm in Mosul. They grow wild in Iran, but are still considered an exotic food. The farm was first started in 2009 by Majeed Hamid Sallal and located in Ras al-Jadda neighborhood of the northern Iraqi city and it is considered one of the country’s most innovative agricultural projects.

“But growing mushrooms requires special conditions,” he told the business newspaper. “And for these reasons they thought that my project would fail. Nobody encouraged me to carry on.”

Following international standards for growing white mushrooms, he first studied the growing techniques in Aleppo, Syria where mushrooms have been growing successfully. Although mushrooms require no pesticides to grow, they do need to be sterilized to avoid harmful bacteria that might be lurking in the compost.

And what is particularly special about Sallal’s mushroom project is that it’s one hundred percent local – except for the seeds which are bought internationally. Most Middle Eastern countries rely on international aid and expertise for novel agriculture projects these days.

Located in Ninewa, Iraw’s wheat and barley producing region, the region is also known as Nineveh, a city mentioned in the Bible – where Jonah was to go and make people repent. This was after escaping the mouth of the whale. (magic truffles anyone?)

This place may seem magical in many ways and with water shortages, mushroom farming may be the future of this biblical region. Plus mushrooms are a great source of vitamin D.

lol, but nice article. :)

Iraq needs $ 20 billion to upgrade agriculture, says MP
Added by Baghdad Iraq on January 5, 2013.
Saved under Business & Iraqi Dinar
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Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) -The Parliamentary Agriculture Committee announced that Iraq needs more than $ 20 billion to upgrade the agricultural sector.

Member of the Committee, Kadhim al-Bahadili, stated to Iraqi News (IraqiNews.com) “The deliberate negligence by the former regime to the agricultural sector caused major desertification for many lands and obliged 80% of the farmers to abandon their agrarian lands and move to cities, so it is very difficult that the current government could improve this sector within a limited period.”

“The available financial allocations for the agrarian sector are not enough where we need more than $ 20 billion to rehabilitate the agriculture and do the reclamation,” he added noting that “The pending Late Payment Law has allocated $ 18 billion to develop the agricultural posture.”

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Iraq seeks India's agricultural expertise
New Delhi,Business/Economy,Science/Tech, Wed, 16 Jan 2013IANS



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New Delhi, Jan 16 (IANS) Iraqis will travel to India from April to get trained in irrigation and land reclamation.
The first batch of over 500 Iraqis will learn how to boost agricultural production and reduce their country's dependence on imports, which account for 90 percent of its food requirement.
"Iraq has sought India's assistance for training in irrigation, agriculture and land reclamation," J.S. Samra, chief executive officer of the National Rainfed Area Authority, told IANS.
"Iraq was self-sufficient in food in 1950 but in 2010 it imported about 90 percent of its requirements at a cost of $12 billion, which is 13 percent of its annual budget.
"India used to import about 10 million tonnes of wheat annually in the 1960s, and now exports 11 million tonnes foodgrain," Samra said.
He said Iraq had the potential to become self-sufficient in meeting its food needs.
According to him, inadequate water management was a reason for an average import of five million tonnes of wheat per year by Iraq.
Samra said the UN's food sanctions against Iraq in 1990 prohibited foreign investment in agriculture. The oil-for-food programme stipulated that food imports could only be made against oil export by Iraq.
Iraq's cultivable land at 11.5 million hectare comprises 26 percent of its geographical area.
"Only half of Iraq's cultivable land is cultivated," Samra said, adding that irrigation was critical in low rainfall countries like Iraq.
Samra said irrigation in Iraq suffers from damaged infrastructure, water logging and building up of salt in the soil. It needs investment for drainage to reclaim saline soil.
"Agriculture productivity in Iraq is half of neighbouring countries. There is a need to revitalise and remodel investments in rural development," Samra added.
"Lining of irrigation system, pipes, sprinkles and drip system would require massive investments."
Samra, also an agriculture scientist, also said that Iraq needed watershed development in hilly areas and rainwater conservation.
"Storage in small dams can enhance production. Diversification to horticulture can enhance incomes. India has vast experience (in these areas)."
Iraq once had one of the oldest irrigation systems in the world and was known for food production.
Indian farm machinery, veterinary services and fisheries technology would also be relevant to Iraq due to similar socio-economic conditions.
Samra said protected cultivation of fresh food around urban centres can enhance productivity and provide off-season supply of vegetables and fruits.
(Prashant Sood can be contacted at prashant.s@ians.in)

Categorized | Agriculture
Iraq On Track for Big Wheat Crop
Posted on 18 January 2013. Tags: food security, Irrigation, John Schnittker, Water, Wheat

By John Schnittker, Agricultural Economist and Ministry Advisor at the US Embassy in Baghdad.
Iraq’s 2013 winter grain prospects appear to be good to excellent condition at this time. Late fall and early winter rains as well as irrigation supplies have been adequate to support increased plantings and good early growth of the critical wheat and barley crops. Satellite imagery and field reports also indicate a positive outlook from the principal growing provinces.
However, as harvest is still four months away, and with the bulk of the wheat and barley crops water requirements yet to be met, it is premature for Iraq to assume a bin busting crop. But the good condition of the crop and adequate soil moisture supplies have created the potential for Iraq’s best wheat and barley crops in many years.
Spring rains and irrigation water availability will ultimately determine if this year’s crop is a success. Irrigation water management during March and April will be especially important. A successful harvest is especially needed across the North where short crops and outright crop failures in recent years have seriously hurt the agricultural sector.
The northern provinces of Iraq and Kurdistan are heavily dependent upon winter rains, putting crop production in these areas at the mercy of mother-nature, while the remainder of Iraq is primarily irrigated.
Iraq’s irrigation water supplies for both the winter grain crop and spring and summer crops such as corn and rice are heavily dependent upon winter rain and snow that falls across Eastern Turkey; to date precipitation across this region has been somewhat spotty. However, there is still time for heavy widespread precipitation to fall before winter and spring storm systems disappear in mid to late April.
Fair weather is in the forecast for Iraq over the next 7-10 days, but after that the long-range weather models suggest a stormy period around the end of the month.
A bumper crop in 2013 could result in as much as an additional $250 million in farm receipts flowing through the rural economy. Farm income could also see a sharp increase, setting the stage for new investments in farm machinery and irrigation equipment. Politically, a big crop would increase stability in rural areas as increased crop receipts move through the rural economy, creating new jobs and giving credence that Iraq is meeting its ambitions to become more self-sufficient in food.

US, Iraq to Improve Iraqi Agriculture
Posted on 21 January 2013. Tags: United States Agency for International Development, USAID

The U.S. Embassy, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture (MOA), met from January 15 to January 17 to help Iraq improve its agricultural sector through the U.S.-funded Harmonized Support for Agricultural Development (HSAD) project.
This project will improve agricultural investment opportunities and efficiency and introduce modern farming technologies and practices to help Iraqi agribusinesses become more productive and competitive.
The event was attended by Senior Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Subhi al-Jumaily, other GOI officials, representatives from Iraq’s agricultural colleges, and USAID Mission Director to Iraq Thomas Staal. Mr. al-Jumaily expressed his enthusiasm for the new project, stating, “We are very optimistic that these recommendations will produce results that will strengthen the agriculture sector and eventually lead to increased opportunities for Iraqi farmers.”
In his remarks, Mr. Staal emphasized U.S. government support to Iraqi agriculture, saying, “We are happy to see that our partnership with Iraq’s agriculture sector, which began in 2003, is continuing through HSAD. The recommended technologies and reforms, if implemented, will open up the market for increased investment which in turn will help a broad cross section of Iraqi farmers.”
The HSAD project will help the Ministry of Agriculture reform Iraqi laws, regulations, and institutions in the agricultural sector to encourage increased private sector investment. HSAD builds on USAID’s recently concluded 5.5-year, $179-million Inma agricultural project that helped expand the agribusiness private sector in Iraq and is another U.S. government program in support of Iraqi agriculture as outlined in the Strategic Framework Agreement.

^^ cool tomatoes

p3f86SM-H_Q

Farmers collect the rice harvest in Najaf province, where two new agricultural villages are being constructed. [Qassem Zein/AFP]

New villages seek to improve agriculture sector in Iraq
ECONOMY | 2013-02-04
The Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture recently announced it started construction on two modern agricultural villages in the desert area of Najaf province, as part of a strategic ministerial plan adopted in 2008, officials said.

Under a contract signed with the Ministry of Industry and Minerals, the ministry has started work on the two-year, 58 billion dinar ($49.8 million) project, which will accommodate agricultural engineers and veterinary doctors, ministry undersecretary Ghazi al-Abboudi told Mawtani.

Two 5,000 dunam plots of land in the al-Ruhaimiya and al-Rahba districts in the Najaf desert have been designated for the villages, and the Ministry of Agriculture has obtained rights to the land, said Najaf Agriculture department director Majeed Jayyad.

The two sites have been deemed suitable for agricultural reclamation and for the construction of cattle farms, and have access to electricity services and paved roads, Jayyad told Mawtani.

The two ministries have formed a joint committee with the Najaf Agriculture department to follow up on the project, and the resident engineers have been named, he said.

In addition to their role in reviving and supporting agricultural production, the villages will play an important role in reducing unemployment, Jayyad said.

The villages will provide employment opportunities for graduates of agriculture and veterinary colleges, enabling them to participate in building up and serving the country, he said.

Model housing units are being built to high-level technical specifications, and the project will include a health unit, an elementary and a middle school, a police station, a gas station, a nursery and a recreational club among its amenities, al-Abboudi said.

"The objective behind this project is to grow agricultural production, both in terms of cattle and crops, by reclaiming the land surrounding the two villages," al-Abboudi said.

Recent graduates of agriculture and veterinary colleges will be invited to apply for the programme, he said, adding that selection criteria will include the graduation year, the applicant's academic average and whether they are a member of a martyr family.

Each beneficiary will be given 40 dunams to start an agricultural project, he said.

"Also, we will grant the beneficiaries interest-free, easy-term loans to finance their own private projects in addition to meeting their needs for machinery, technologies, agricultural vehicles, fertilisers and vaccines," he said.

The strategic plan aims to improve the agricultural sector through the gradual construction of modern agricultural villages throughout Iraq, al-Abboudi said.

Two villages will eventually be constructed in each province, except in the Kurdistan Region, at a total cost of more than 600 billion dinars ($515 million), he said.

Adel al-Mukhtar, an advisor to the parliamentary committee on agriculture and water, welcomed the construction of the two villages in Najaf.

Specialised agricultural projects such as this are "among the successful projects worldwide", he said. "They have proven to be effective in the agricultural development process."

"These projects have a great impact on increasing the planted areas and raising the productivity of the dunam, as well as achieving high-yield animal production and pushing the country towards self-sufficiency and food security," he said.

"These projects are also very important in directing and guiding farmers in rural communities to adopt modern agricultural methods, in addition to their role in helping to fight desertification, improving the environment and addressing unemployment among those working in the agricultural sector," al-Mukhtar said.

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Has anyone thought of investing in this sector in the future?
Especially in planting many fruit trees where currently some fruits are 100% imported? Is there even much profit in doing so?

Has anyone thought of investing in this sector in the future?
Especially in planting many fruit trees where currently some fruits are 100% imported? Is there even much profit in doing so?

Heavy rainfall encourages Iraq's agriculture and cattle industries
ECONOMY | 2013-02-06
Iraqi farmers, investors and agriculture officials are welcoming the heavy rains that have drenched parts of the country in the past few weeks, saying these will provide a needed boost for the agriculture and cattle industries.

Ali Abdul Hassan, an agricultural engineer at the Babil Agricultural Directorate, told Mawtani this kind of rainfall improves the agricultural output of palm trees, fruit plants and citrus trees by cleansing them and removing many pests.

It also creates huge reservoirs of underground water, he said, adding that many farms and orchards use sprinklers fed by these reservoirs to irrigate acreages planted with wheat and barley.

INFLUX OF INVESTORS
Businessmen and investors in Iraq's agricultural sector also welcomed the rain that swept the country.

"Increased rain leads to an influx of investors into this sector," Naseer Hadi, one such investor, told Mawtani.

"As businessmen with capital, we turned towards investing in greenhouses because they are more suitable and require less water, unlike the traditional method of agriculture," he said.

"But, greenhouses alone will not meet local market needs, for we need to plant grains and other crops whose planting requires large areas and abundant water," he said.

Heavy rainfall, according to Hadi, "boosts investment in agriculture, because now we have a huge surplus of water that encourages us, as investors, to plant the largest areas possible, which can then meet the market's need for local agricultural products."

BOOM YEAR FOR CROPS AND CATTLE
Cattle ranchers and farmers from various Iraqi provinces told Mawtani they feel their businesses will flourish this year due to the abundant water supply.

Jabbar al-Ameri, who owns a citrus farm that depends on irrigation from the Tigris River, said many citrus and palm tree farms suffered "serious drops in their output due to the fall of the river's water levels in past years, which negatively affected thousands of dunams of orchards".

"The rise in the river's level will help me water an entire citrus orchard, in contrast to previous years when I was not able to provide enough water for the trees," he said.

Cattle rancher Fadhel Mahbash told Mawtani he and his fellow ranchers have suffered from a lack of rainfall in previous years, as the huge areas their cattle grazed on turned into arid land.

"We have artesian wells, which are used to water the areas set aside for grazing, and many of them dried up because of the lack of rain," he said. "But the current rainy season will replenish them, and consequently grazing areas will grow, giving us the chance to increase and improve the cattle population."

Dhahi al-Sultani, an investor in the cattle industry, told Mawtani he believes the coming years will witness a huge increase in the number of cattle.

"There are vast areas of desert in which grass and shrubs will [now] grow and provide thousands of kilometres of suitable pasture areas," he said.

Cattle must feed on natural grass if the consumer wants high-quality meat, al-Sultani said.

When a lack of rain leads to the desertification of many pasture areas, cattle ranchers often resort to special fodder to feed their cattle, which may lead to an increase in costs, he added.

"But, if precipitation continues to be heavy in the coming seasons, we shall see robust investment in the cattle industry because the process would solely rely on natural grass, thus producing high-quality meat," he said.

Wheat Harvest Exceeds 3m Tons
Posted on 18 February 2013

By John Lee.
Azzaman reports that wheat production in 2012 rose to 3.26 million tons, despite a lack of rain.The harvest had fallen to an average 1.5 million tons in the years follow the US-led invasion in 2003, with the country becoming a net importer of wheat and other cereals.
Deputy Agriculture Minister Mahdi al-Qaisi said increasing cereal production was a top priority, adding that policies to revamp the country’s farming sector were paying off.
He said the ministry’s gift to Iraqi farmers in return for the hike in wheat production was a discount of 50% on all irrigation-related equipment.
Iraq’s wheat consumption is currently estimated at 5 million tons a year.

Don't know if this is he right thread but I will post it anyway. Work continues in Karbalas green belt.

27km long 100 meters wide. About 120,000 trees of different kinds. Many palm trees, olive trees and other types.
http://gdb.rferl.org/0F0EE392-850D-47F8-839D-823DF3B46C98_w268_r1.jpg

I hope they are smart and actually plant trees that will benefit the agriculture industry. And not just any random type of non fruit bearing trees.

I hope they cover all deserted land in iraq in palm trees... would be fun to witness.

Ziziphus tree is native in that area and good for agriculture industry

I hope they are smart and actually plant trees that will benefit the agriculture industry. And not just any random type of non fruit bearing trees.

"The trees are chosen according to their strong roots, fruits, quality as well as survivability"

"The trees are chosen according to their strong roots, fruits, quality as well as survivability"

tbh I never trust what any of these articles say.

Ziziphus tree is native in that area and good for agriculture industry

What do you think is the most beautiful tree that can grow in most parts of Iraq?

What do you think is the most beautiful tree that can grow in most parts of Iraq?

You mean for afforestation or for only plantation?

tbh I never trust what any of these articles say.

From June 2012
MBeTkX25zB0

I know of these old greenbelts... (see the karbala refinery thread). they are not true "green belts" more like thin green strips since its only a few meters "wide"... they need to grow a 10km wide "belt" to start having some effects really...

It's going to look nice when trees get to their mature heights... all those soil should be all covered in those type of trees and Iraq will not have to worry with heat-waves and as much dust in the summer and attracting more rain the cooler season... just image all those brown soil became a forest for hundreds of miles...

in karbala the trees HAVE grown to maturity already 4 years ago when I worked there...

in karbala the trees HAVE grown to maturity already 4 years ago when I worked there...

how tall are they now? I know date palms can go as high as 70-75 or 80 feet but those are like old date trees. quite tall for a palm tree lol

how tall are they now? I know date palms can go as high as 70-75 or 80 feet but those are like old date trees. quite tall for a palm tree lol

Probably closer to the 10-15 feet range at this point. But yes they get "mature" when they have proper reproductive ability.

BTW not all palm trees grow to that height. The palm trees in the south don't grow as high as in the centre or north.

Probably closer to the 10-15 feet range at this point. But yes they get "mature" when they have proper reproductive ability.

BTW not all palm trees grow to that height. The palm trees in the south don't grow as high as in the centre or north.why they dont grow as much down there? not even enough precipitation?

Provincial councilman: Agricultural production increasing in Anbar
Anbar's agricultural output has risen over the past three years thanks to the government's continuing support of farmers and the province's improved security situation, said Sheikh Abbas al-Jumaily, chairman of Anbar provincial council's agricultural committee.

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The council has initiated numerous projects to enhance agricultural production, he added, including supporting sheep and cattle raisers and the owners of poultry and fish farms.

Al-Jumaily spoke with Mawtani about these projects and plans to further develop the province's agriculture sector.

Mawtani: What is your evaluation of the state of agriculture in the province?

Sheikh Abbas al-Jumaily: There has been an improvement in the state of agriculture in Anbar in recent years. In previous years, the province witnessed terrorist attacks and an unstable security situation which contributed towards delays in the execution of advanced projects.

Recently we began infrastructure reconstruction and rehabilitation projects for both agriculture and livestock. That was due to the stable security situation experienced by Iraq in general and Anbar province in particular.

In the past three years, the Anbar council and the provincial agricultural offices have focused on carrying out agricultural and reclamation projects while using modern services to improve the state of agriculture, livestock and fish industries, and all other areas important to farmers and sheep and cattle raisers.

The projects included the reclamation of more than 917,000 dunams of land last year, the construction of nine green oases in the western Anbar desert, three farms for raising cattle, and the completion of a project to encircle the cities of Anbar with natural wind barriers of evergreen trees, which also help to address desertification and sand dunes.

In addition, we planted seven green belts in different areas of Anbar which are close to the western desert. These act as natural filters which purify the air of dust and help fight desertification, because they resist drought and extreme climate conditions.

Mawtani: What do you have in store for this year?

Al-Jumaily: Once funding from the 2013 Regions Development Budget is allocated to Anbar, we will complete, with support from the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture, an important agricultural project that includes, in the first round, the construction of three green pastures and the distribution of more than 294 greenhouses to farmers.

We will also extend support to sheep and cattle raisers and owners of fish and poultry farms by supplying them with advanced agricultural and livestock equipment and supplies.

Mawtani: What about the state of livestock in Anbar, and the projects executed in this field?

Al-Jumaily: There is an increase in the number of animals – birds, fish, cows, goats and other farm animals thanks to the consistent support given to farmers, and the efforts made to treat the diseases that struck these animals in past years.

There are also more than 21 veterinary centres to examine and treat animals, provide vaccines, and increase awareness of modern feeding techniques.

One of the most significant completed projects was the veterinary prevention project in Ramadi. We also opened three laboratories in Fallujah, al-Qaim, and Heet, built an animal reserve in al-Rutbah in western Anbar, and formed a specialised committee to ban off-season hunting during the reproduction season.

The committee is also working on barring hunters from using dangerous weapons, poisonous materials and hand grenades in hunting and fishing, as well as prosecuting violators of the law

Iraq marks progress at 5th Agricultural Week Fair
ENVIRONMENT | 2013-03-25
Iraq's fifth Agricultural Week Fair, "Let's Turn Iraq into a Green Oasis", brought together private sector firms and provincial agriculture offices, commissions and research and development centres to promote progress in the country's agricultural sector and foster new growth.

The fair, held March 14th to 21st at the Baghdad International Fairgrounds, was organised by the ministries of agriculture and water resources with help from the Ministry of Environment and the State Company for Fairs and Trade Services.

"This year's Agricultural Week was characterized by the high number of international and local firms taking part," Saad Abdullah Mustafa, chairman of the preparatory committee, told Mawtani.

Companies from Germany, Italy, Turkey and the US displayed their products, machinery and agricultural supplies alongside prominent local and Arab companies from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Lebanon, he said.

"Participation by these firms will have a positive impact on the state of agriculture and animal industry in Iraq, because contracts will be signed to benefit from those companies' expertise and products," he said.

In addition to the private sector displays, numerous activities were presented by provincial agriculture directorates, commissions and research and development centres and by the Ministry of Industry and Minerals, he said. Other activities included cultural events and a photographic exhibit.

AGRICULTURAL INITIATIVE BEARS FRUIT
"The fair was an agricultural event focused on showing the services presented by the Ministry of Agriculture, and the results achieved through the government's Agricultural Initiative," Ahmad Nasser al-Shallah, director of Babil's agriculture department, told Mawtani.

In August 2008, the Iraqi government launched a comprehensive initiative to enhance the sector, setting a 10-year goal for the achievement of self-sufficiency in strategic crop production.

The initiative supports farmers with seeds, fertiliser, agricultural pesticides and land reclamation, and guarantees to buy strategic crops at market prices. It also includes various subsidy funds.

Babil was the leading producer of corn this year -- a crop for which the province is well known, al-Shallah said.

"We marketed 95,639 tonnes, which represented 43.8% of the overall marketed quantities in Iraq, according to statistics released by the Agriculture Ministry," he said. "This progress is attributed to ministerial support provided to farmers by upgrading their crops seeds."

The Babil agriculture department took part in the fair in order to highlight its success, he said.

Meanwhile, Nihad Jamal, media director of the Kirkuk agriculture department, said his province excels at cultivating strategic crops such as wheat, barley, corn and cotton, in addition to producing honey.

"We are exhibiting in this fair today the extent of progress in agriculture accomplished in our province," he told Mawtani.

Mohammad Shihab, media officer of the Basra agriculture department, said his province exhibited numerous industries that use palm leaves.

The province also showcased its honey, Shihab said "which is the best and most expensive type of honey because bees in the area rely for their food on the fruit of lote trees, which are abundant in Basra".

KEEPING PACE WITH PROGRESS
"It is necessary for any investor in the areas of agriculture, cattle raising or poultry, to keep abreast of what is new in this field," animal industry investor Falah Saadi al-Hassany told Mawtani.

"For this reason, the Agricultural Week was a major important opportunity enabling us to keep pace with, and get to know, the latest worldwide developments," he said.

"The displayed machinery, supplies, fodder and advanced methods of raising animals have a great impact on raising local production," al-Hassany said. "Today, we live in an age of fast innovations reached through the attention given by governments to research and studies on developing all sectors of the economy."

Iraq Buys 350,000 Tons Australian Wheat

Iraq has bought 350,000 metric tons of Australian wheat from a tender that closed March 24, a person familiar with the matter said Thursday.

Baghdad bought some 150,000 metric tons of Australian wheat from Glencore at $394.60 a ton on cost, insurance and freight, CIF, bases, the person told Dow Jones Newswires.

Another 50,000 metric tons of Australian wheat were bought from ADM at $390.75/ton on cost and freight, C&F, bases, he said.
Some 50,000 metric tons of Australian wheat were bought from Olam International at $389.21/ton on C&F bases, while some 50,000 metric tons at $390.81/ton on CIF bases where bought from Louis Dryfus, he added.

The last time Iraq bought wheat was in February when it bought some 300,000 metric tons of Australian wheat.
Iraq consumes between 3.5 million and 4 million tons of wheat every year.

Write to Hassan Hafidh at hassan.hafidh@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswire

© Copyright Zawya. All Rights Reserved.

Iraq aims to support local farmers through new proposal
ECONOMY | 2013-04-12
The Iraqi government this week approved a proposal to raise the purchase prices of wheat, barley and yellow corn, in a bid to support the local farmers who sell this produce to the government, and to boost local agricultural output.

The cabinet approved the proposal at its regular meeting April 9th, said Deputy Agriculture Minister Mahdi al-Qaisi.

"The purchase prices this year will go up by 10% over last year's prices," he said, adding, "The government used to buy top grade wheat at 720,000 dinars ($619) per tonne, barley at 520,000 dinars ($447) per tonne and yellow corn at 320,000 dinars ($275) per tonne."

The decision came as "part of the government's policy towards farmers, to encourage them to hold on to their land and plant strategic crops, particularly wheat, which is the main item in people's food baskets", he said.

It can help grow local food production and expand areas of planted land, which would help Iraq achieve self-sufficiency and cut down the need to import items, al-Qaisi said.

"The purchase prices of the three crops are higher than import prices, but this does not constitute a loss if viewed from a forward-looking perspective," he said. "The government is trying, out of a strategic vision, to boost local production and revitalise the state of agriculture, which cannot be accomplished without supporting the farmer."

Also, there is an immediate benefit to buying these crops locally, as crops are bought in their raw state, meaning it is possible to benefit from harvest leftovers by making animal fodder, including hay, he said.

PROPOSAL PRAISED
Al-Qaisi said his ministry "is working, as part of its strategic plan, on improving the level and quality of the local production of these crops" by way of "two important projects".

The first project supplies farmers with sprinkler irrigation systems at subsidised prices, while the second aims to boost scientific research to develop new types and classes of seeds characterised by high productivity and quality, he said.

"We also have other projects such as the provision of easy-term loans" and "a project to enhance agricultural counselling, which includes building experimental agricultural farms to help farmers improve their skills", he said.

Meanwhile, Faisal Rashid Nasser, advisor at the ministry, praised the approval of the latest proposal.

"It is part of government plans to help farmers meet some of the cost of agricultural production, and enable them to make more money, which would encourage them to make further progress and put in more effort to build up the country's agricultural sector," he said.

Itab al-Douri, a member of the parliamentary agriculture committee, also lauded the effort, saying, "We at the committee give our blessings to this latest government step."

"Iraqi farmers are in need of both moral and material support because they have endured a lot of hardship in the past few years," he said, adding that many farmers were forced to abandon their land and take up new professions due to such hardship.

Obaid al-Shammary, a farmer, said he and his fellows are "grateful to the government and for its decision to raise the prices of our crops".

"This increase will enable us to secure what we need to plant on our land and reap a good profit," he added.

Iraq predicts bumper harvest for 2013

By Ali Shattab, Azzaman, May 8, 2013

The Trade Ministry has raised wheat and barley prices it offers to Iraqi farmers to encourage them to ferry their produce to state- run silos.

The Grain Board of Iraq, a state-run firm affiliated to the Trade Ministry, says recent heavy downpours, particularly in southern provinces have delayed the launch of harvest season in the country.

However, it said all aspects concerning marketing wheat, barley and rice are in place.

The board gave no exact prediction of this year’s harvest, but its information officer Amer Abdulaziz said there were strong indications of bumper yields.

Last year, Iraq reaped the largest volume of grain in the years since the 2003-U.S. invasion of the country. Wheat produce surpassed two million tons.

The Ministry of Agriculture has said it expects this year’s wheat produce to surpass 3 million tons.

Domestic needs are much higher for all types of grain, but the government’s agricultural program calls for encouraging local farmers and paying them handsomely for the yields they ship to state warehouses.

“This year’s grain marketing season is going to be exceptional due to higher produce and better yields. All indicators by the Ministry of Agriculture point to abundant yields,” said Abdulaziz.

He said the government was following the harvest season carefully and has decided to increase the rates it pays farmers for each tone of barely, wheat and rice they produce by 10%.

The government now pays farmers 792,000 dinars for each tone of wheat instead of 720,000.

One dollar is worth 1250 dinars.

Iraqi agricultural sector booming, says deputy minister

By Khawla al-Aukaili, Azzaman, May 14, 2013

Iraq currently has the ability to meet domestic needs for vegetables and fruits of different kinds, said deputy Agriculture Minister Ghazi al-Ubaidi.

Ubaidi said the country has seen leaps in agricultural produce following the implementation of a self-sufficiency plan that was launched in 2008.

He said the government, encouraged by the latest surge in agricultural produce, has banned imports of vegetables and fruits. “Only fruits and vegetables which cannot be grown or planted in the country are not covered by the import ban,” Ubaidi said.

“It is important for the government to back local agricultural produce by banning exports,” he said.

Asked whether the ban on exports would lead to prices hikes, Ubaidi said: “On the contrary, vegetable and fruit prices has never been as cheap as they are now.”

Ubaidi even predicted that Iraq would soon attain self-sufficiency in wheat yields.

He said currently Iraq met 65% of its domestic needs for wheat, with yields reaching 3.2 million tons.

The Agriculture Ministry, he said, was introducing new fruit trees and new breeds of vegetables and cereals to boost output.

Iraq imported huge quantities of vegetables from Iran, Turkey, Jordan, and mainly Syria prior to the country’s descent into violence.

It currently imports most of its rice needs estimated at more than 1 million tons a year.

Despite Ubaidi’s claim of bumper wheat harvests, the country is still a big importer of the cereal, with annual import volumes estimated at about 3 million tons.

Less dependent on food rations

http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/120/downloadrbu.jpg
A farmer in Sulaimaniya governorate. Photo: Lachicaphoto/Flickr

BAGHDAD/DUBAI, 7 May 2013 (IRIN) - Food security in Iraq has improved in the last decade, as the American-led invasion brought an end to sanctions and a resumption of open relations between Iraq and the rest of the world.

Historically, Iraq’s vulnerability to food insecurity has been largely due to barriers to international trade - caused by two decades of wars and sanctions - which hindered the export of oil and import of food commodities. These barriers also affected Iraq’s ability to modernize the agricultural sector and employ new technologies; local production could not meet the country’s growing food needs.

As such, even during the worst years of sectarian violence in the last decade, access to food improved on average, compared to the years under sanctions.

Recent history

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), in 1980, just four percent of Iraqis were undernourished or “food deprived”, meaning they consumed less than the minimum energy requirement, which in Iraq is currently estimated at 1,726 kilocalories per person per day. Despite years of war with Iran in the 1980s, agricultural subsidies and food imports from the US and Europe helped keep the level of food deprivation low.

But when the UN leveled sanctions against Iraq in August 1990, and US government credits for agricultural exports to Iraq ceased, Iraq - almost completely dependent on imports for its food needs - saw food deprivation rise to 15 percent by 1996, according to FAO. Throughout the 1990s, food deprivation continued to climb, reaching a peak of close to one-third of the population in the late 90s, by some counts.

Humanitarian food supplies delivered through the UN’s Oil-for-Food Programme, initiated in 1995, helped ease the strain, but during the early to mid-2000s, the Public Distribution System (PDS) - the government’s subsidy scheme created in 1991 - remained “by far the single most important food source in the diet” for the poor and food insecure population, according to a 2006 report by the government and the World Food Programme (WFP).

Post-2003

Food deprivation levels began to fall just before the turn of the century, and the decline increased with the toppling of former president Saddam Hussein, which saw Iraq regain the ability to import freely. In the last decade, the country has experienced a “huge transformation”, as one observer put it.

In 2003, months after the invasion, a WFP survey found that 11 percent of the population lacked secure access to food, a large drop from the high of the 1990s.

While food insecurity was found to have risen slightly, to 15.4 percent, in a 2005 WFP-government survey, it fell right back down shortly afterwards.

Joint government-UN analysis of 2007 survey data found that 7.1 percent of the population was food deprived; this dropped to 5.7 percent in 2011, according to the Iraq Knowledge Network (IKN) survey.

The government credits an improvement in security, economic growth and increased humanitarian aid.

PDS

Whereas aid workers estimated 60 percent of the population was food aid-reliant during Hussein’s reign, the PDS is now essential only to the poor.

Sa’ad al-Shimary, a government employee from Baghdad, said his family used to be dependent on the PDS. “I don’t even need the food supplies we get from the ration card now,” he said. “I can buy good quality food from the markets, as everything is available now.”

But while the value of the PDS basket has diminished for most Iraqis (it now represents only 8 percent of the total cash value of food expenditures), it remains a major source of wheat and rice for 72 percent and 64 percent of households respectively, according to the 2011 IKN survey. (Iraq’s PDS is the largest in the world, according to the US Agency for International Development, providing virtually free basic food rations to any Iraqi; as such, it is not only utilized by the poor.)

The PDS is the source of more than one-third of Iraqis’ calorie consumption, and more than half of the poor’s consumption.

And at 35 percent, food continues to comprise the highest proportion of Iraqi household expenditures. Nearly one-quarter of IKN respondents said they used coping strategies to eat enough in 2011. In addition to the 5.7 percent of Iraqis now considered to be undernourished, an additional 14 percent would become undernourished if the PDS did not exist, according to the IKN.

Malnutrition

Malnutrition indicators paint a blurrier picture.

While the percentage of children under five who are underweight nearly halved from 15.9 percent in 2000 to 8.5 percent in 2011, according to the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), conducted by the government and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), chronic and acute malnutrition indicators look less positive.

The percentage of children under five who are moderately or severely stunted (too short for their age) or wasted (underweight for their height) both increased - if only slightly - over the same period, a “worrying” trend, aid workers said, given the long-term impacts of malnutrition on mental development.

According to UNICEF, one out of every four Iraqi children suffers from stunted growth. High levels of chronic and acute malnutrition are a sign that mothers and children do not have access to quality food. While access to food has improved, stunting and wasting are difficult trends to reverse in a short period of time. As such, it may take years before improved access to food reflects in malnutrition rates across the board.

Impact of violence

Although the last decade has seen overall gains in food security, the sectarian violence of 2006-2007 did have a negative impact. For example, a WFP report based on 2007 data found that levels of food deprivation differed by area: in Diyala Governorate, one of the most volatile during the conflict, 51 percent of the population was deprived of food, while in the northern autonomous Kurdistan region, largely spared the consequences of the invasion, just one percent of the population suffered from food deprivation.

Here, too, there has been change. While in 2007, insecurity had a huge bearing on food security, the food insecure today are traditionally vulnerable groups - the illiterate, the unemployed, the displaced and female-headed households.

Iraq also faces new challenges to its food security, according to Edward Kallon, WFP’s director in Iraq, including rising global food prices, poverty, climate change, desertification and drought.

For more, check out this UN fact-sheet on food security and this presentation by UNICEF comparing the child indicators in Iraq over the last three to five decades. The bulk of statistics come from WFP/government surveys in 2003, 2005 and 2007; and UNICEF/government surveys in 2000, 2006 and 2011. This 2010 report on food deprivation analyzes 2007 data collected in a survey by the government and the World Bank, just as this 2012 report analyzes food security data from the 2011 IKN survey. The FAO has its own figures on food deprivation. The government has also tracked statistics on underweight children from 1991 through 2009.


(While the terms “food insecurity” and “food deprivation” are often used interchangeably, they use different methods to measure the same thing: Food security is usually measured by the frequency and cost of people’s eating habits (the 2003 and 2005 surveys, for example, looked at the amount of money families were spending on food), while food deprivation is measured in terms of how many kilocalories a person consumes a day.)

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Photo: IRIN

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Note: This graph combines statistics from different sources using different methodologies that cannot necessarily be compared. It reflects only a general outlook, not specific trends.

See page 66 of this joint WFP/Iraqi government report for more (http://www.japuiraq.org/documents/227/WFP_VAMSurvey_2007_CFSVA%20final.pdf)

Photo: IRIN

LAHORE: Encouraged by past successes of the National Engineering Services of Pakistan (NESPAK), Iraq’s Ministry of Water Resources has awarded an irrigation project to NESPAK. The project called East of Gharaf aims at strengthening the war torn economy of Iraq by providing sustainable irrigation and drainage facilities to about 390,000 acres of land in Nassiriya and Kut Governorates, the area between Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Dr Mansoor Ahmad Hashmi Vice President Water Resources Division of NESPAK would go Iraq by the end of this month for signing the contract agreement for the East of Gharaf Project with the Ministry of Water Resources, Government of Iraq. NESPAK will render engineering consultancy services including update of topographic survey and detailed design of irrigation and drainage networks of the project area with full reclamation concept. The state-owned NESPAK has worked on a number of irrigation projects in early 1980’s, such as Euphrates East Drains Project, Saddam Dam Project, North Jazira Irrigation and Drainage Project, Rumaitha Irrigation and Drainage Project. NESPAK still retains its registration with the Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources. NESPAK is one of the largest consultancy firms in Asia with staff strength of over 4,200 with over 1100 professionals including MS and PhD degree holders as well as foreign qualified professionals in various engineering fields. Over the last four years, its revenues have become more than doubled with nearly 30 percent contribution from overseas projects in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Afghanistan, Iran, Qatar, Yemen, Bangladesh and Ethiopia. staff report