Iraq's water crisis: Farmers watch their lands turn into desert

Iraq is living through its driest year since 1933, with water reserves falling to just 8% and river inflows from the Tigris and Euphrates dropping sharply. In a report from the field, Al Mayadeen English’s correspondent, Siraj Ghassani, meets farmers who watched once-fertile fields turn into cracked soil and barren plains. Desertification now affects 60% of Iraq’s territory, threatening the country’s food security and forcing families to abandon generations-old farmlands. While the Iraqi government has introduced irrigation reforms and secured temporary water releases from Turkey, farmers say their future still hinges on one thing: water flows returning.