Professor Dr. Shokor Mahmood Hassan Al-Mohammadi

Department of Soil Sciences and Water Resources

 Introduction

Water and its availability in Iraq are a concern of many researchers, analysts and planners all over the world. Despite the importance of providing the necessary quantities of water for civil, industrial and agricultural uses, the quality of water began to deteriorate as a result of salinization and pollution in all its forms.

Therefore, some researchers expect that the future of water in many countries of the world will face a number of difficulties due to political, economic and environmental constraints. However, this will open the door wide for the discovery and development of modern and economical technologies that help rationalize water use and provide water of the appropriate quality. The scarcity of water resources will also lead to attention and even focus on the optimal management of water projects for civil, industrial and agricultural purposes.

The role of water in Iraqi agriculture

Agriculture played a key role in the settlement of human societies and the prosperity of their civilizations, and this was reflected in the civilizations of Mesopotamia, which are the first civilizations known to mankind. The inhabitants of Mesopotamia had a degree of urbanization and sophistication in the use of irrigation systems, storage of irrigation water during floods and the construction of dams and regulators for water drainage according to the needs of agriculture.

Although the water policy in Iraq has been based on the principle of linking the policy of water use to the policy of land and food security, there are still many obstacles that face the good use of water in irrigated agriculture, resulting from the difficulty of proper planning for this resource because of the risks it is exposed to represented by the following:

1.    The Turkish water policy, which is trying to dominate the large number of imports of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, within its storage and irrigation projects.

2.    The use of traditional irrigation methods and methods that are characterized by their low efficiency and which are still prevalent in irrigated agriculture in Iraq, including surface irrigation, which is characterized by the following negatives:

a. Weak attention to the design foundations and criteria for field channels, represented by:

First: the discharge. Second: the depth of flow. Third: Standards related to preparing the land, including preparing the land, levelling, and the length and width of the board.

b. Wastage in the use of water, the amount of which may reach 50% of the total amount of water used in irrigation, as we find that the depth of water added in one irrigation may reach 110 mm, while the average required (available) is 75 mm.

c. Water users’ lack of knowledge of the correct irrigation periods, irrigation time, the depth of water to be added, and agricultural density.

Waste is not related to the farmer only, but to the management of the irrigation project, and the ability of this administration to operate and maintain the irrigation networks. Ministry of Irrigation sources estimate that the amount of water lost in the transmission and distribution channels is 2.2 billion cubic meters annually. Therefore, it is expected that the water will be insufficient for the cultivation of all irrigable lands, but enough water can be available to irrigate an area that does not exceed 14 million acres in the best estimates, as a result of the expected decrease in the inflow of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers upon completion of the Turkish projects within the so-called (GAP) project.

The future of agriculture in Iraq with limited water supply

The water resource is the most determining factor for the development of irrigated agriculture in Iraq and the largest pillar for achieving national food security, and given the risks this resource is exposed to in terms of quantity and quality, which are negatively reflected on Iraqi agriculture as a result of Turkey withdrawing large quantities within its water projects. This is expected to decrease to levels that may not secure the cultivation of half of the irrigable lands in Iraq, especially if the current irrigation methods continue as they are traditional (surface irrigation), and this is expected at least during the first decade of the early next century.

Based on the foregoing, it is expected that irrigated agriculture in Iraq will face two main problems:

1. Reduction in the amount of available water resources

2. The deterioration of the quality of water resources and their impact on soil fertility and consequently on the future of Iraqi agriculture during the next century.

The available water is sufficient for only one third of the irrigable lands, and if it is desired to cultivate all the lands, of which the net amount is 18.6 million dunams, a deficit of 16.5 billion m³ occurred in the year 2000.

It rose to 33 billion m³ in 2020 and may increase more and more in subsequent years. This indicates the emergence of a large deficit facing Iraqi agriculture in the water resource, which limits its development and growth... which requires making all intensive efforts, depending on the following:

1. Work on the adoption of scientific water standards for agricultural crops for Iraqi agriculture and the lack of qualitative use in order to reduce the unjustified use of this important resource

2. Work to reduce losses through the maintenance and maintenance of irrigation and drainage projects and work on lining water-carrying channels to reduce leakage that occurs during transportation and distribution.

3. Using modern irrigation methods and expanding their dissemination in Iraqi agriculture, especially the sprinkler and drip irrigation methods, because of their benefits in raising irrigation efficiency from 47% to 78% and more.

4. Working on preparing and levelling the land in a scientific and technical way through the use and dissemination of laser levelling to reduce water losses.

5. Utilizing the sewage water in the cultivation of some salt-resistant crops, especially the waters of the Third River.

6. Working on developing production rates per unit area to compensate for areas that cannot be cultivated due to water scarcity. That is, the development of agriculture vertically through the use of modern production requirements such as seeds and fertilizers and the dissemination of modern mechanization.