Iraq shifts from water scarcity to “dangerous” shortage

Shafaq News – Baghdad

Iraq has moved from water scarcity to outright water shortage, the Agriculture Ministry warned on Monday, signaling major cuts to its winter farming plans as reserves plunge to critical lows.

Based on a statement from the ministry, Adviser Mahdi Damad Al-Qaisi described the situation as “dangerous,” noting that water storage has fallen below 10 billion cubic meters after consecutive years of drought. He called for the formation of a high-level technical negotiating team—bringing together the government and parliament under the country’s top authority—to address the crisis with upstream neighbors.

He affirmed that rice cultivation has been banned except for a 200-donum reserve to preserve seed varieties, while wheat and barley will be restricted to areas with direct river access or advanced irrigation systems. Vegetable farming, which consumes less water and can be drip-irrigated year-round, will continue.

Falling water levels, al-Qaisi added, have also forced a shift in fish farming from floating cages to closed systems as part of a broader move toward “smart agriculture.” He warned that without a private sector committed to specialized farming, adaptation efforts will remain limited.

Iraq’s reserves, once at 21 billion cubic meters, have fallen by more than half in a single year. The drop is driven by climate extremes, mismanagement, and reduced river inflows from upstream countries. Water Resources Minister Aoun Diab recently appealed to Turkiye to increase releases, calling this Iraq’s “most severe” water crisis in decades. He cited low rainfall and continued upstream restrictions despite a recent agreement to boost flows into the Tigris and Euphrates.