Drought-hit farmers lease lands to camel herders

NAJAF, August 5 — Farmers in Al-Qadisiyah district in Al-Najaf have resorted to leasing their lands to camel herders after being excluded from agricultural plans, in an attempt to compensate for significant losses incurred over the past two years.

The farmers of Al-Ahmar village in Al-Qadisiyah district were accustomed to cultivating rice, but the drought crisis has prevented them from continuing, turning their fields into semi-barren lands where only “alkul” grass grows abundantly in the abandoned farmlands.

Ali Aziz, a farmer, stated to 964: “I was forced to lease my land to a camel herder for one year, as it was not included in the agricultural plan and turned into land resembling a desert. The water crisis prevented me from cultivating rice, and the land became useless to me. Allowing camels to graze on it in exchange for a small sum of money is better than nothing.”