Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Russian agency: Russia will conduct a nuclear test if the US does
Al-Nakhalah: We are the rightful owners, and we must fight to retrieve our rights
Al-Nakhalah: The enemy and its allies must know that we can never surrender to their terms and diktats after all the sacrifices made
Al-Nakhalah: The prisoner exchange clause can be completed in the next few days, and thus we will have pulled the [explosion] fuse and removed the enemy's justifications for aggression
Al-Nakhalah: The Resistance has expressed its willingness to negotiate on the basis that there are items that can be dealt with positively, the first of which is the prisoner exchange item
Al-Nakhalah: Trump's plan entails the Palestinian people's declaration of complete surrender to the enemy
PIJ Secretary-General, Ziyad al-Nakhalah, in an address aired on Al Mayadeen: The Resistance is engaging in a fierce negotiating battle under the so-called Trump plan
Russian Federation Council approves joint military cooperation agreement with Cuba
Al-Nunu: Today, the lists of prisoners required to be released, the agreed-upon criteria and numbers, were exchanged
Al-Nunu from Sharm el-Sheikh: Negotiations focused on mechanisms for implementing an end to the war, the withdrawal of occupation forces from the Gaza Strip, and the exchange of prisoners

Drought threatens amber rice crops in Iraq

  • By Al Mayadeen Author
  • Source: Agencies
  • 15 May 2022 15:10
  • 2 Shares
3 Min Read

In a country full of water resources, drought is threatening a prized cultivation, amber rice.

  • x
  •  An Iraqi farmer plants amber rice in the Mishkhab region, central Iraq. (AFP)
    An Iraqi farmer plants amber rice in the Mishkhab region, central Iraq. (AFP)

Growing amber rice in Iraq has been a tradition due to its aromatic basis of rich lamb and other dishes, and being an essential element in an excruciating economy; however, it is presently threatened by drought.

Amber rice is mainly used in Iraqi meals such as mansaf, the lavish lamb qouzi, and stuffed vegetables.

Nonetheless, three years of drought and a declining rainfall have forced consumers to look for imported varieties, which left farmers pondering their future.

"We live off this land," said Abu Rassul, living in a village in Najaf, adding, "Since I was a child I have planted amber rice."

"Water enables us to plant every year," he noted, but this year, the situation is different.

According to Shaker Fayez Kadhim, Najaf's water resources manager, the country's available water reserves "are well below our critical level of 18 billion cubic metres (4.8 trillion gallons)," he told AFP.

The Agriculture Ministry stated that in early May, officials restricted total rice crop areas to 1,000 hectares (2,471 acres), in Najaf and Diwaniyah only.

Related News

Russian economy grows 1% in January–August, inflation at 8%

Falling birth rates threaten living standards in rich nations: FT

Read more: Iraq’s Agriculture Reaps the Despoiled Seeds of US Meddling

A top official in the ministry's planning department said that Iraq's annual production of rice had been 300,000 tonnes (tons).

Seeing the current situation, one would be surprised to believe that Iraq is famous for being the "country of the two rivers," the Tigris and the Euphrates, which are two legendary water sources. In these two rivers, the supply of water has been declining for years, causing Iraq to be classified as one of the five most vulnerable areas to climate change effects and desertification.

Looking at the consequences, we can't but notice they are dire: depleted rivers, declining crop yields, and more intense sandstorms.

The worst is yet to come

Kadhim informs that the Euphrates has declined to about one-third of its normal level. He believes "political action" must take place to get more water flowing.

"There is a risk of seeing rice cultivation disappear for lack of water," Ahmed Hassoun, the president of the Najaf farmers' association said, blaming authorities.

"We know Iraq will have a shortage of rain in the coming years," he added, complaining that despite that, nothing has been done to "modernise the irrigation system."

Hassoun said that the country has become "a market for all its neighbours", and last year, its own agricultural sector contracted by 17.5 % "following severe droughts, energy outages, and the rising global price of inputs", as per the World Bank.

The World Food Programme reports that agriculture is the second-largest contributor to Iraq's GDP and employs about 20% of the workforce.

  • GDP
  • World Food Programme
  • Iraq
  • Climate change
  • Tigris River
  • Drought
  • Agriculture
  • Euphrates
STOP THE HEAT: A Climate Change Coverage

STOP THE HEAT: A Climate Change Coverage

Most Read

Tucker Carlson speaks at a memorial for Charlie Kirk, Sunday, September 21, 2025, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona (AP)

Tucker Carlson: Israeli officers gave orders on Iran inside Pentagon

  • Politics
  • 2 Oct 2025
A Hamas fighter in combat fatigues stands before the ceremony for the handover of Israeli captives to the Red Cross in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, February 22, 2025 (AP)

Hamas responds to Trump plan, backs Gaza withdrawal, exchange

  • Politics
  • 3 Oct 2025
ap

'Israel' pays influencers $7K per post to whitewash Gaza genocide

  • Politics
  • 1 Oct 2025
Mossad’s secret role in Aldo Moro’s 1978 murder revealed

Mossad’s secret role in Aldo Moro’s 1978 murder exposed

  • Politics
  • 5 Oct 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
In this May 20, 20201, photo Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, the head of US Central Command, arrives in Baghdad, Iraq (AP)
Politics

US spent $33 billion on post-Oct.7 genocide, wars, Brown Uni reports

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., holds a news conference to mark the seventh day of the government shutdown, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025. (AP)
Politics

US troops face unpaid wages as government shutdown drags on

Mourners wave Hezbollah and a Palestinian flag during the funeral of Hezbollah former leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and his successor Sayyed Hashem Safieddine in the Sports City Stadium in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, February 23, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Hezbollah voices support for Gaza, Resistance on October 7 anniversary

Al-Aqsa Flood restored Palestinian cause on the global stage: Hamas
Politics

Al-Aqsa Flood restored Palestinian cause on the global stage: Hamas

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS