Ramadi okra farmers struggle with irrigation delays during August heat

RAMADI — Okra fields in the Albu Dhiab area of Ramadi Island have gone as long as 15 days without irrigation water in the middle of August, on a crop that needs watering every three or four days, farmers say.

That is four or five missed waterings in a row. “Blazing August,” as farmers locally call it, left plants parched and cut yields, said Abdul Shaabani, who farms in the area. In high heat, fields need water about twice a week, and each irrigation takes two to three hours depending on the size of the plot and how much water is available.

The area is known as Anbar’s breadbasket and grows several okra varieties, among them Halqoumiya, Husseiniya — also called Hasnawiya — and others. Halqoumiya is the most widely grown, Shaabani said, prized for thicker, heavier pods and for drying and storing through winter, with buyers coming from Ramadi and surrounding districts to buy it specifically for that.

Okra is selling at about 1,000 dinars a kilogram, roughly 65 cents, varying by variety, quality, supply and demand.

Farmers want larger water allocations during extreme heat and regular releases through the end of the growing season, Shaabani said.