Migration from the countryside to the city constitutes an economic and social problem. It is an old phenomenon for which successive governments have been unable to find a solution. In recent years, the situation has worsened due to the drought and lack of rain that Iraq is suffering from, and has led to a decrease in water levels in the rivers and marshes, which has forced farmers and livestock breeders and the buffalo, to abandon their areas and head to the cities, including Karbala Governorate, because their existence is linked to water.
Hussein Muhammad (54 years old), a buffalo breeder, said during an interview with Al Aalem Al Jadeed, “The drought and fodder crisis forced me to leave the governorate of Dhi Qar and migrate to Karbala governorate, because of the circumstances that I experienced. We buffalo breeders live in the marshes or on Riverbanks, because this animal needs large quantities of water, and it also needs reeds and papyrus in addition to fodder.”
Muhammad adds, “We cannot live in the areas that we lived in before because there is nothing suitable for raising buffalo, and the high cost of living has negatively affected the raising of these animals. In contrast, the prices of milk and its derivatives are very low.”
He points out that “the dryness of the marshes and rivers forced many buffalo breeders to leave their homes and villages in the southern governorates and head to the central governorates.”
The First Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives in the previous session, Hassan Al-Kaabi, had revealed in a statement received to “Al Aalem Al Jadeed” on May 20, 2019, the decline in the number of buffalo in Iraq from 1.2 million to less than 200 thousand buffalo, calling for action and speed to find necessary solutions for this problem.
In turn, the Vice-Chairman of the Parliamentary Agriculture, Water and Marshlands Committee, Susan Koger, confirmed during an interview with “Al Aalem Al Jadeed” that “Livestock is one of the important foundations of the country’s imports, as well as an important economic resource, whether locally or for export if there is good support for this sector.”
She notes that “livestock comes in third place after oil and agriculture, and until recently, conditions were not good for this sector due to drought and desertification, and there was also insufficient support from the government.”
“There must be support for livestock to develop and advance them and go towards exporting them and their various products, such as meat, eggs, honey, leather, etc.,” Koger explained.
She points out that “Iraq lacks plans related to the advancement of livestock, and those working in this sector are demanding that there be strategic plans in the future for its development, and farmers and livestock breeders must make greater efforts to develop their businesses.”
For years, Iraq has witnessed water crises that appear noticeably in the summer months and the beginning of autumn, when rain stops and water evaporation rates rise, due to climate change and drought caused by Turkey’s reduction of water supplies to the Tigris and Euphrates rivers emanating from its lands by up to 70 percent, in addition to Iran cutting off most of the streams. And the rivers passing through its lands, which previously fed the Tigris River in Iraq.
The rate of water quantities coming into Iraq, according to data announced by the Central Bureau of Statistics, from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers for the year 2021-2022 decreased from the year 2020-2021 by 6.74 billion cubic meters.
The areas of the marshes submerged in water in 2019 amounted to about 5,600 square kilometers, before they declined due to drought by 96 percent in 2023, according to the Nature Iraq organization, which is active in the environmental field.
For his part, livestock expert, Adel Al-Mukhtar, confirmed during an interview with “Al Aalem Al Jadeed” that “livestock has suffered a major setback due to the circumstances or the policy pursued by the Ministry of Agriculture. For example, the Ministry’s treatment of the poultry sector is incorrect, as it prevents imports to enhance local production, but this measure leads to higher prices, and the citizen is the one who bears the price.”
He explains, “If the dollar exchange rate changes and jumps significantly, the poultry fields will suffer a huge loss. Therefore, this policy is incorrect, and the poultry projects were supposed to work according to a national program in order to maintain a good price for the citizen.”
Regarding the buffalo, Al-Mukhtar explains, saying, “The buffalo problem is related to fodder, and it is a very big problem that led to the collapse of the buffalo sector, in addition to water scarcity. According to a statement by the Ministry of Agriculture on a satellite channel, 7,000 buffalo died due to lack of water, and this number is very large.”
He continues, “In general, livestock suffers from several problems, and the cattle stations, Al-Ishaqi and Al-Latifiyah, are also stopped. The latter imported many cows, but a large number of them died, causing a huge financial loss to the station.”
Al-Mukhtar concludes his speech, “There are three factors involved in the reality of livestock: the cost of production, agricultural marketing, and the water crisis. All these important factors led to the collapse of livestock in Iraq. As for fish, the Ministry of Water Resources is proud to have closed about 7,000 fish lakes due to violations by their owners, but what is the alternative?”
It is noteworthy that the Ministry of Agriculture previously acknowledged, in an interview with Al Aalem Al Jadeed, the absence of government support for farmers and animal breeders, whether in terms of feed, seeds, or machinery.
The country is afflicted by a crisis at the level of local production, especially chicken, fish, and vegetables, due to the high prices of feed and raw materials on the black market, and the absence of government support, which prompted many of them to leave these jobs and migrate towards the city in search of other work.
