Barley and corn added to winter plan as water recovers

BAGHDAD — Iraq will add barley and yellow corn to its winter agricultural plan and bring rain-fed land back into cultivation after this year’s recovery in water supplies, the Agriculture Ministry said, with Nineveh taking the largest share.

“The upcoming winter plan will see the introduction of new varieties of strategic crops, most notably barley and yellow corn,” spokesperson Qusay al-Hattab told the Iraqi News Agency. The plan was drawn up by a joint committee with the Water Resources Ministry based on available supplies, and the improved reserves have also allowed the summer plan to expand, he said.

Hattab said Iraq had been self-sufficient in wheat for three years and the ministry would soon announce a fourth. It bought more than 5.1 million tonnes of domestic wheat in 2025, building reserves of about 6.5 million tonnes, and had procured nearly 3.2 million by mid-June this year against a target of about 5 million.

The 2025-26 winter plan covered about 1.1 million acres under modern irrigation after drought delayed its launch, with the government subsidising irrigation systems by 30% and letting farmers repay over 10 years. The state buys wheat grown within the plan at 700,000 dinars a tonne this season and 500,000 outside it, down from 850,000 last year — a cut of about 18%.