Iraqi Farmers Tap Groundwater to Revive Desert Agriculture Amid Growing Risks.

In Iraq’s arid heartland, farmer Hadi Saheb eagerly anticipates a flourishing wheat harvest after tapping into precious groundwater reserves. Amid chronic drought and dwindling rainfall, Saheb is among many Iraqi farmers drilling wells in the desert to keep agriculture alive.

Traditionally, Iraq’s fertile lands stretched along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, but the dramatic fall in river levels has forced farmers like Saheb to seek alternatives. His farmland, located deep in the southern Najaf desert, now thrives thanks to groundwater access supported by a government initiative.

The program leases desert land to farmers at a symbolic cost of one dollar per dunum (0.25 hectares), provides subsidized irrigation systems, and purchases their crops at favorable rates. No longer reliant on unpredictable rainfall, Saheb has expanded his cultivated land twentyfold and boosted his harvest to 250 tons.

Modern irrigation systems now drive this agricultural transformation. Instead of traditional flood irrigation—which wastes enormous amounts of water—Saheb and others have adopted center-pivot systems. This method, which involves sprinklers rotating in a circular motion, cuts water use by at least half.

According to Iraq’s agriculture ministry, 3.1 million dunums (775,000 hectares) were cultivated this winter using groundwater and modern irrigation, surpassing the two million dunums sustained by river water. In Najaf alone, desert farming has expanded markedly, with local agriculture official Moneim Shahid reporting that wheat yields in desert areas are now expected to reach 1.7 tonnes per dunum—higher than the 1.3 tonnes achieved in river-irrigated zones.

Last year, Iraq achieved an impressive wheat harvest of 6.4 million tonnes, exceeding national self-sufficiency. Religious organizations, such as the Imam Hussein Shrine in Karbala, have also stepped in to support these efforts, cultivating over 1,000 hectares and planning major expansions.

However, the reliance on groundwater raises serious concerns. The Najaf desert sits atop the Umm el-Radhuma and Dammam aquifers, which Iraq shares with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Both aquifers are showing declining levels, reflecting a broader global trend of aquifers depleting faster than they can naturally recharge.

A 2023 United Nations report highlighted the risks, pointing to Saudi Arabia's overuse of its groundwater for desert farming, which depleted over 80% of its reserves and forced it to cease wheat cultivation after 2016.

Water expert Sameh al-Muqdadi warned that Iraq’s groundwater is already dropping steeply, with wells now needing to reach depths of 300 meters compared to 50–100 meters in the past. He stressed the urgent need for updated groundwater assessments, noting that Iraq’s latest figures date back to the 1970s.

"Groundwater must be treated as an emergency resource, not a means for large-scale agricultural expansion," Muqdadi cautioned. Without proper management, he warned, Iraq risks exhausting this critical reserve, jeopardizing food security for future generations.

As Iraq’s desert wheat fields grow greener, the sustainability of their water sources remains a pressing and unresolved challenge.

Source:https://phys.org/news/2025-04-iraq-farmers-groundwater-boost-yield.html

This is non-financial/medical advice and made using AI so could be wrong.