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Years of war, civil unrest and years of economic sanctions have dampened agricultural production in Iraq, with farmers facing shortages of quality seeds and fertilizers and livestock herders forced to sell or abandon their animals. Some have seen their herds dwindle due to disease. Similarly, high food prices have prevented many poorer Iraqis from supplementing government food rations with fresh, nutritious food. As food security worsens, large numbers of internally displaced people (IDPs) are placing a burden on host communities, particularly as a large proportion of them have fled to cities in Iraq’s Kurdish region. FAO has been working in Iraq for many years to boost the agriculture, animal health and water sectors. Iraqis have also benefited from FAO’s projects for technical expertise and capacity building, as well as the provision of basic inputs. Our emergency assistance programmes focus on providing time-critical livelihood support to families severely affected by the ongoing conflict.
Revitalizing the seed industry
FAO took immediate action to restore Iraq’s seed industry after the war ended in 2003. Our work with the Iraqi Government focused on helping to restore damaged infrastructure, providing internal and external training programmes for personnel in key seed industry disciplines, and reviewing the Iraqi National Seed Policy and Seed Law.
FAO provided essential equipment (processing tools, farm equipment, seed processing machines, seed testing equipment), helped build a seed testing laboratory building and greenhouse, and coordinated the repair of damaged infrastructure at the research station and laboratory.
The Iraqi National Seed Policy and Seed Bill developed by FAO have been adopted by the Iraqi Government, providing a blueprint for the development of the Iraqi seed industry and strengthening the capacity of the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture to plan and formulate appropriate strategies in the agricultural sector.
Until now, Iraqi farmers have had access to high-quality seeds of major crops using crop improvement, seed multiplication and quality control equipment provided by FAO to the Iraqi Research Centre. Efforts to increase production and productivity have been on the rise during the period 2008-2013.
Promoting efficient cattle breeding technology
We have been working with government agencies and producers to increase production and productivity by introducing innovative cattle-rearing techniques and setting up milk collection centres. Organising farmers into associations around these centres is an initiative that helps to continually reduce losses, ensure better quality and expand marketing opportunities. Through these projects, we are driving job creation across the dairy value chain (production, processing and distribution) in both rural and urban areas.
One of the country’s largest projects is to ensure the full resumption of artificial insemination activities in Iraq by importing purebred Friesian bulls from Australia. From mid-2009 to early 2010, more than 220,000 frozen semen straws were produced. In 2014, in addition to the quantities distributed free of charge to dairy cow owners, the stored samples reached 440,000.
Stimulating fish production
In this regard, we have been working with partners to turn around the fisheries sector, stimulate fish production and revive fish farming. To this end, FAO has prepared a draft law on fisheries and aquaculture and established two centres, one for fish breeding and genetic research and the other for fish farming and hatcheries.
The fish cages were installed at Kut and Hendia Dams and shipped to the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture, which included some equipment and materials for a complete closed-circulation system to ensure a continuous supply of fingerlings.
A research center has been built in Al-Hewazeh, as have two office buildings in Kut Dam and Al Hendiah.
Ongoing support needed
In 2014, FAO assisted Iraq in developing long-term agricultural strategies and policies. In addition, we helped Iraqi and Kurdish host communities cope with the displacement of nearly 2 million people since January 2014.
FAO’s emergency assistance focuses on providing urgent livelihood support to 43,000 households (258,000 people) severely affected by the ongoing conflict. More than 225,000 people (37,500 households) are currently receiving emergency agricultural and livelihood support as part of FAO’s Strategic Response Plan, funded by USD 14.7 million from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The recent escalation of conflict in large parts of the country requires additional funding and assistance to help farming families, especially those involved in crop and livestock production, to mitigate the damage to their sources of food, income and employment.
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