Iraq's Agriculture Minister Abbas Al-Maliki
Media Monitor
Agriculture minister: Iraq cuts water waste, increases agricultural exports
BAGHDAD — Iraq has improved its agricultural output and boosted exports, Agriculture Minister Abbas Al-Maliki claimed in an interview with Al-Iraqiya TV. “Our work as a cohesive team has been one of the most important factors in the success of this government,” Al-Maliki said. He credited modern irrigation systems, which now cover 66% of cultivated land, for reducing water waste and enabling large-scale farming in desert areas.
Al-Maliki said Iraq has not only achieved self-sufficiency in wheat, dates, and potatoes but has also exported 950,000 tons of 11 different crops, calling it “an unprecedented figure in the country’s history.”
Excerpts from Abbas Al-Maliki’s interview with Al-Iraqiya TV:
Our work as a cohesive team has been one of the most important factors in the success of this government. In previous years, the Ministries of Water Resources and Agriculture were at odds, but under our government, the two ministries have worked together as one team. Our goal was to achieve self-sufficiency, and the Ministry of Water Resources has supported us in this effort.
This season, we cultivated 9 million dunams, a large portion of which was in desert areas that we reclaimed using modern pivot irrigation systems. We allocated 800 billion dinars for their purchase, which saved us large amounts of water that were previously wasted through traditional flood irrigation.
In many Cabinet meetings, we discussed how to manage surplus wheat production after achieving self-sufficiency. This alone is a success story, as some countries only discuss how to secure their basic needs.
About 66% of cultivated areas rely on modern irrigation techniques and groundwater. This year, we only included lands that use modern irrigation techniques in the agricultural plan. This is a sign of success, as we have reduced waste and reliance on groundwater.
We successfully cultivated rice using pivot sprinklers and achieved a high yield. We conducted field experiments in the presence of farmers and convinced them that the yield was higher than traditional farming methods while reducing water consumption by 70%.
We achieved self-sufficiency and a surplus in wheat, dates, and potatoes. As for export-oriented crops, we produced 11 types with a total quantity of 950,000 tons—an unprecedented figure in the country’s history.
