{"id":447428,"date":"2022-05-15T13:28:28","date_gmt":"2022-05-15T10:28:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/iraqs-prized-rice-crop-threatened-by-drought\/"},"modified":"2022-05-15T13:28:28","modified_gmt":"2022-05-15T10:28:28","slug":"iraqs-prized-rice-crop-threatened-by-drought","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/iraqs-prized-rice-crop-threatened-by-drought\/","title":{"rendered":"#Iraq&#8217;s prized rice crop threatened by drought"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a34cc1306022\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a34cc1306022\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/iraqs-prized-rice-crop-threatened-by-drought\/#%E2%80%9CIraqs_prized_rice_crop_threatened_by_drought%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;Iraq&#8217;s prized rice crop threatened by drought&#8221;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CIraqs_prized_rice_crop_threatened_by_drought%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;Iraq&#8217;s prized rice crop threatened by drought&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2022\/a-worker-at-a-rice-mil.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/2022\/a-worker-at-a-rice-mil.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"A worker at a rice mill in Iraq's central province of Najaf, where water shortages mean a drastic reduction in the amount that can be cultivated.\">\n<figure class=\"article-img\">\n            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2022\/a-worker-at-a-rice-mil.jpg\" alt=\"A worker at a rice mill in Iraq's central province of Najaf, where water shortages mean a drastic reduction in the amount that c\" title=\"A worker at a rice mill in Iraq's central province of Najaf, where water shortages mean a drastic reduction in the amount that can be cultivated.\" width=\"800\" height=\"530\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-darken text-low-up text-truncate-js text-truncate mt-3\">\n                A worker at a rice mill in Iraq&#8217;s central province of Najaf, where water shortages mean a drastic reduction in the amount that can be cultivated.<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Drought is threatening the Iraqi tradition of growing amber rice, the aromatic basis of rich lamb and other dishes, and a key element in a struggling economy.<\/p>\n<section class=\"article-banner first-banner ads-336x280\">\n         <!-- \/4988204\/Phys_Story_InText_Box --><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<p>The long-grained variety of rice takes its name from its distinctive scent, which is similar to that of amber resin. It is used in Iraqi meals including sumptuous lamb qouzi, mansaf and stuffed vegetables.<\/p>\n<p>But after three years of drought and declining rainfall, Iraq&#8217;s amber rice production will be only symbolic in 2022, forcing consumers to seek out imported varieties and leaving farmers pondering their future.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We live off this land,&#8221; Abu Rassul says, standing near a small canal that in normal times irrigates his two hectares (five acres) near Al-Abassiya village in the central province of Najaf.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Since I was a child I have planted amber rice,&#8221; says the farmer in his 70s, his face wrinkled and unshaven, dressed in a dazzling white dishdasha robe.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Water enables us to plant every year.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Except for this one.<\/p>\n<p>Normally, rice fields planted in mid-May should stay submerged all summer until October\u2014but that&#8217;s a luxury Iraq can no longer allow.<\/p>\n<p>The country&#8217;s available water reserves &#8220;are well below our critical level of 18 billion cubic metres (4.8 trillion gallons)&#8221;, Shaker Fayez Kadhim, Najaf&#8217;s water resources manager, told AFP.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2022\/abu-rassul-has-planted.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/2022\/abu-rassul-has-planted.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Abu Rassul has planted amber rice since he was a child, but drought leaves him and other rice farmers with an uncertain future.\">\n<figure class=\"article-img text-center\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2022\/abu-rassul-has-planted.jpg\" alt=\"Abu Rassul has planted amber rice since he was a child, but drought leaves him and other rice farmers with an uncertain future\" title=\"Abu Rassul has planted amber rice since he was a child, but drought leaves him and other rice farmers with an uncertain future.\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-left text-darken text-truncate text-low-up mt-3\">\n                Abu Rassul has planted amber rice since he was a child, but drought leaves him and other rice farmers with an uncertain future.<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Rice drains between 10 and 12 billion cubic metres during its cultivation period of about five months, so it is &#8220;difficult to grow rice in Najaf or other provinces because of the high level of water it needs&#8221;, Kadhim said.<\/p>\n<p>Previously, more than 70 percent of the amber crop was grown in Diwaniyah and neighbouring Najaf provinces.<\/p>\n<p>In early May, officials limited total rice crop areas to 1,000 hectares (2,471 acres), in Najaf and Diwaniyah only, according to the agriculture ministry.<\/p>\n<p>The normal quota is 35 times that.<\/p>\n<p>Water shortages have also led to reduced quotas for wheat farmers.<\/p>\n<p>The country&#8217;s annual rice production had been 300,000 tonnes (tons), according to Mohammed Chasseb, a senior official in the ministry&#8217;s planning department.<\/p>\n<p>Iraq is known in Arabic as the &#8220;country of the two rivers&#8221;\u2014the Tigris and the Euphrates. But despite those two legendary water sources, the supply of water has been declining for years and the country is classified as one of five most vulnerable to climate change effects and desertification.<\/p>\n<p>The consequences are dire: depleted rivers, more intense sandstorms, declining crop yields\u2014all of which add to the multiple challenges the country faces after decades of war and insurgency.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2022\/amber-rice-is-named-fo.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/2022\/amber-rice-is-named-fo.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Amber rice is named for its distinctive scent similar to that of amber resin.\">\n<figure class=\"article-img text-center\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2022\/amber-rice-is-named-fo.jpg\" alt=\"Amber rice is named for its distinctive scent similar to that of amber resin\" title=\"Amber rice is named for its distinctive scent similar to that of amber resin.\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-left text-darken text-truncate text-low-up mt-3\">\n                Amber rice is named for its distinctive scent similar to that of amber resin.<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><b>Fearing the worst<\/b><\/p>\n<p>The Tigris and Euphrates, and their tributaries, originate in Turkey and Syria as well as Iran, which dams them upstream. This reduces the flow as they enter Iraq.<\/p>\n<p>Kadhim says the Euphrates has dropped to about one-third of its normal level. He wants &#8220;political action&#8221; to get more water flowing.<\/p>\n<p>Ahmed Hassoun, 51, president of the Najaf farmers&#8217; association, fears the worst.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There is a risk of seeing rice cultivation dis<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ear for lack of water,&#8221; he said, blaming authorities.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We know Iraq will have a shortage of rain in the coming years,&#8221; said Hassoun, an agricultural engineer. Despite that, nothing has been done to &#8220;modernise the irrigation system&#8221;, he complains.<\/p>\n<p>But agriculture is not the only sector where the infrastructure needs upgrading in a country grappling with corruption and a financial crisis after decades of war.<\/p>\n<p>Hassoun lamented that Iraq has become &#8220;a market for all its neighbours&#8221;, a reference to the deluge of Iranian and Turkish agricultural product imports.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2022\/a-farmer-fetches-water.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/2022\/a-farmer-fetches-water.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"A farmer fetches water from a drying and polluted stream in Najaf province -- Iraq is classified as one of five most vulnerable to climate change effects.\">\n<figure class=\"article-img text-center\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2022\/a-farmer-fetches-water.jpg\" alt=\"A farmer fetches water from a drying and polluted stream in Najaf province -- Iraq is classified as one of five most vulnerable \" title=\"A farmer fetches water from a drying and polluted stream in Najaf province -- Iraq is classified as one of five most vulnerable to climate change effects.\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-left text-darken text-truncate text-low-up mt-3\">\n                A farmer fetches water from a drying and polluted stream in Najaf province &#8212; Iraq is classified as one of five most vulnerable to climate change effects.<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Last year, Iraq&#8217;s own agricultural sector contracted by 17.5 percent &#8220;following severe droughts, energy outages, and the rising global price of inputs&#8221;, according to the World Bank.<\/p>\n<p>That is significant in a country highly dependent on oil income but that wants to diversify its economy.<\/p>\n<p>According to the World Food Programme, agriculture is the second-largest contributor to Iraq&#8217;s GDP, after oil, and employs about 20 percent of the workforce.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We want the state to take an interest in farmers,&#8221; says Jassem Zaher, who is in his 60s and also exclusively farms amber rice.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We don&#8217;t have other crops. It&#8217;s the farmers&#8217; livelihood.&#8221;<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<div class=\"article-main__explore my-4 d-print-none\">\n<p>                                            Iraq&#8217;s treasured amber rice crop devastated by drought\n                                        <\/p><\/div>\n<hr class=\"mb-4\"\/>\n<p class=\"article-main__note mt-4\">\n                                                \u00a9 2022 AFP<\/p>\n<p>                                        <!-- print only --><\/p>\n<div class=\"d-none d-print-block\">\n<p>                                                 <strong>Citation<\/strong>:<br \/>\n                                                 Iraq&#8217;s prized rice crop threatened by drought (2022, May 15)<br \/>\n                                                 retrieved 15 May 2022<br \/>\n                                                 from https:\/\/phys.org\/<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a>\/2022-05-iraq-prized-rice-crop-threatened.html<\/p>\n<p>                                            This document is subject to copyright. 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Drought is threatening the Iraqi tradition of growing amber rice, the aromatic basis of rich lamb and other dishes, and a key&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":447430,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/2022\/a-worker-at-a-rice-mil.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-447428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sciencee"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/447428","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=447428"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/447428\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/447430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=447428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=447428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=447428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}