Some items of the items of the monthly food ration provided by the state via ganets to Iraqi families (KirkukNow)
Iraq allocates up to 5 trillion dinars to bolster ration card system, support farmers
BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Ministry of Trade said Monday that between three and five trillion dinars ($2.13–$3.55 billion) have been allocated in the federal three-year budget to support and upgrade the national food ration program, with several reforms underway to improve its quality and efficiency.
“The food ration card file represents one of the ministry’s top priorities,” ministry spokesperson Mohammed Hanoun told the state-run Al-Sabah newspaper. “The goal is to make it not just a tool to provide food to citizens, but an integrated economic project that contributes to achieving national food security.”
The public ration card system, launched in the 1990s, remains one of Iraq’s largest social welfare programs, providing millions of Iraqis with monthly food baskets containing basic goods.
Hanoun said the ministry is focused on raising the quality of the food items included in the rations without straining the public budget. The plan also involves strengthening local production and storage capacity to ensure more supplies are sourced domestically rather than imported.
He noted that the budgeted funds for the program vary depending on liquidity levels and procurement schedules, ranging from three to five trillion dinars. A separate allocation of three trillion dinars ($2.13 billion) has been set aside to pay farmers who sold wheat during the current harvest season, part of efforts to bolster domestic agriculture.
Hanoun added that the ministry completed a comprehensive study of citizens’ needs to improve the food basket and is supporting the network of around 57,000 ration card agents across Iraq. He described their role in distribution as “vital.”
He also said the ministry had updated citizen data across all governorates and launched pilot digital services in Wasit governorate to streamline the management of ration cards. These services allow users to electronically suspend, reinstate, split, or add names to their cards.
“Citizens whose cards were suspended due to incomplete data can now update their information electronically through the designated application,” he said.