‘A clear impact’: drought cuts water to half of farmlands in Pshdar and Bitwen areas

RAPARIN — Farmers in the Pshdar and Bitwen areas of the Raparin autonomous administration in Sulaymaniyah governorate are facing severe water shortages this year, with drought preventing irrigation for about half of their farmlands, local agricultural officials said Thursday.

“As Raparin Agriculture, we continuously monitor farmers and visit them. This year’s drought has had a clear impact, drying about 50% of both surface and groundwater sources, leaving farmers unable to secure water for their lands,” said Khalid Ahmed, director of agriculture in Raparin.

He said the drought has caused many orchard trees to dry out or be uprooted, in addition to damaging other crops.

According to figures obtained by 964media from the agriculture departments in Raparin and Pshdar, Raparin district has about 250,000 dunams of farmland, including 140,000 dunams in Pshdar. More than half of the rain-fed lands in the area have not been cultivated this year due to the lack of water.

With wells and springs running dry, many farmers and orchard owners have turned to purchasing water. Hassan Abdullah, a water-tanker driver from Qaladze, said, “Many orchard owners have no water, so we bring water to them to keep their orchards alive and prevent them from drying out.”

He said each tanker carries 13,000 liters and costs between 30,000 and 35,000 dinars ($21–$25), depending on the location, with most orchards receiving at least one delivery a day.

The crisis follows an unusually dry year across the Kurdistan Region. As of early May, Sulaymaniyah had recorded just 350 millimeters of rain, down from 671 millimeters the previous year. Rainfall also dropped dramatically in Erbil and Duhok, where levels fell from over 580 and 620 millimeters respectively to under 160 in both governorates.

Water crisis deepens in Sulaymaniyah as shortages stretch to five days in some areas