Kamel Hamed’s golden spikes wave languidly in the wind. But faced with this bucolic landscape in central Iraq, the farmer does not hide his anguish: between the drought, the war in Ukraine and the scarcity of water, his harvest has been divided by two.
“The drought is unbelievable right now. Even in the wells, the water cannot be used. It’s salt water,” says Hamed, who is wearing a white “dishdasha” (long garment) and his head covered by a “keffiyeh” (traditional scarf).
Furthermore, since February, the repercussions of the war in Ukraine have been felt even in their fields, near the village of Khaliha: the price of fuel, fertilizers and seeds has increased considerably.
This has caused its production costs to skyrocket.
Like all farmers in Iraq, Kamel Hamed follows the guidelines of the authorities, who buy the grain from him, determine the areas planted and the level of irrigation, based on water reserves and rainfall.
This year, due to water scarcity, Iraq has halved its cultivated area.
Hamed has planted a quarter of his 100 donums (10 hectares). In her fields, the harvester makes round trips to cut off the ripe ears. The grain is thrown onto the bed of the truck.
“This year we haven’t even gotten 500 kilos of wheat from a donum,” says the 53-year-old farmer. In previous seasons, he used to get a ton per donum.
The war in Ukraine “has pushed up the price of motor oil and high-yield seeds,” he says.
“I don’t know how to support my family,” adds Hamed. “No salary, no job, where can I go?”
leave the earth
But the key factor is water.
This is a very sensitive issue for Iraq and its 41 million inhabitants, who feel the impact of climate change on a daily basis: desertification, sandstorms, less rainfall and lower river levels.
It is also a key geostrategic issue.
Iraq shares the waters of several rivers, especially the Tigris and Euphrates, with Turkey and Syria, but also with Iran.
Baghdad opposes the construction of upstream dams in its neighboring countries, which reduce the flow of rivers as they enter Iraq.
Diwaniya province, where Jaliha is located, watered by the Euphrates, normally receives 180 cubic meters of water per second.
This year the level is “80 to 90 cubic meters,” says Hani Chaër, who heads a farmers’ collective tasked with distributing the water.
Proof of this is the stagnant water in Tharima’s main irrigation channel, which supplies the 200,000 donums of surrounding land.
Chaër also denounces the lack of support from the authorities. According to him, the Ministry of Agriculture has only supplied 5 kilos of fertilizer this season, compared to 40 kilos in previous years.
“The farmer will leave, abandon the land and go to the city to look for any type of work,” he laments.
This season, the country should have between 2.5 and 3 million tons of wheat. “Three million tons are not enough for a whole year for the Iraqis,” acknowledges the spokesman for the Ministry of Agriculture, Hamid Al Nayef. “We will have to import,” he says.
Iraq will also face turmoil in the world market and prices that have skyrocketed due to the conflict in Ukraine, although Baghdad imports its grain mainly from Canada, Australia and the United States.
In his Jaliha camp, Ahmed Al Jelhawi questions his life decisions. “I left my studies to dedicate myself to agriculture,” laments this man in his 30s. “But this year, agriculture is zero.”