Desertification threatens parts of Kurdistan Region: Official says

Desertification threatens parts of Kurdistan Region: Official says

kurdsatnews

Jun 8, 2022

Sulaimani's Grand Millennium Hotel barely visible due to a thick orange layer covering the city, May 23, 2022

Agriculture ministry spokesperson Hussein Hama Karim said that the wheat production in the Kurdistan Region is expected to drop from 774 thousand tons to 300 to 400 thousand tons this year.

He added that "the problem of water shortage is not only in above ground water, but also groundwater has declined, the southern areas of Erbil, that is Makhmur, Dibga, Gower and Garmian, especially Kalar and Kufri, are most vulnerable to desertification.”

"These cities and towns are at the risk of desertification, and work should be done to increase vegetation," Karim noted.

The Kurdistan region has been facing consecutive droughts since 2020. It threatens the regions’ ability to guarantee its food security. The region needs one million tons of wheat to feed its people, while it only produced 774 thousand tons in 2021, and is expected to produce 400 thousand tons for this year’s harvest.

Iraq and the Kurdistan region import most of their wheat needs from Ukraine and Russia, the war in Ukraine has increased the price of wheat and Kyiv’s ability to deliver its wheat to Iraq.

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