First violence, now drought threatens Iraq farmers
For nearly three years, farmer Sarheed Ahmed barely touched his land. He was too afraid of drawing the attention of the masked gunmen who terrorized the area, or of the U.S. attack helicopters that prowled overhead.
Now, Ahmed says, he can farm until late at night without worrying about safety. But in a cruel twist, the rain didn't come this season.
After struggling through five years of war, Iraq is facing an acute drought, which has slashed agricultural production and threatens to decimate livestock. In the worst-hit northern provinces, areas that were covered with golden wheat fields and verdant pastures have become a dust bowl.
For communities such as Hawija, a northern farming town that is just beginning to emerge from fighting that pitted U.S. and Iraqi forces against Sunni Muslim militants, the drought could hardly have hit at a worse time. How it is managed will test a government weighed down by bureaucracy, corruption and distrust.
Agriculture is Iraq's largest employer, accounting for the livelihoods of 25% to 40% of the workforce. If production can be boosted, U.S. officials believe, the sector could become an engine for stability. But drought hardships could drive some people back into the arms of insurgents with cash at hand for anyone willing to plant a bomb.
"Ninety percent of the people in Hawija live off farms," said Mohammed Hussein, a mayor in the area. "If the farmer can't work his land, he will have no choice but to be a terrorist to support his family."
The fertile plains between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers are among the places where farming was pioneered about 10,000 years ago. But the rest of Iraq is largely arid, leaving farmers vulnerable to erratic rains.
The rainfall last winter, when the country receives most of its precipitation, was about 30% of the average, according to the Water Resources Ministry. During the key planting period from October to December, many regions received no measurable rainfall.
Iraq has survived worse droughts. But the effects are particularly severe now because reservoir and river levels are also low after several years of reduced rainfall, Agriculture Minister Ali Bahadili said in a telephone interview.
"This is a very hard time," he said.
Water levels are also affected by dams in Turkey, Syria and Iran, and Iraqi officials accuse their neighbors of taking more than their fair share. However, those countries also have been hurt by the drought.
