Al -Jazeera Net Correspondents
Baghdad– The announcement of the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture about achieving self -sufficiency in the production of the wheat crop and exporting 13 agricultural crops mixed reactions in the Iraqi circles, where some considered it a historical achievement that reflects a remarkable improvement in the agricultural sector, while others questioned the validity of these statements, describing them as “electoral propaganda” that do not reflect the reality.
Self -sufficiency and historical surplus
The spokesman for the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture, Muhammad al -Khuzai, announced that Iraq achieved a historic achievement in the production of the wheat crop, as it exceeded the stage of self -sufficiency and reached a surplus achievement for the first time in the country’s history. Production reached 6 million and 400 thousand tons, while the need for Iraq ranges between 5 million and 5 million and 200 thousand tons, which constitutes an important strategic stock.
Al -Khuza’i said in an interview with Al -Jazeera Net, that Iraq was able to export 13 vegetables and fruits, including tomatoes, cucumber, potatoes, sophistication, watermelon, rice, and dates, indicating that the support provided to the agricultural sector is increasing annually, as it reached more than 5% of the state’s general budget, which is a very large percentage compared to non -oil revenues.
And that the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture adopted a comprehensive strategy to support the agricultural sector, which is based on several major mechanisms, starting with the shift towards modern irrigation systems, which contributes to rationalizing water consumption and increasing productivity, as it works to devise agricultural varieties resistant to the difficult conditions faced by Iraq, and provides support for seeds by 70%.
Al -Khuza’i continued: “The Ministry also cooperates with international organizations to establish small and medium projects in various governorates, and it organizes seminars and workshops to increase the awareness of farmers about modern agricultural methods and rationalize water consumption, and also provided support to buffalo breeders in various governorates, as it allocated more than 5 billion dinars (4 million dollars) to provide molasses and free feed.”
He pointed out that in the field of crop marketing, the state worked to market the wheat crop at prices supported by local mills, and a deal was held to export quantities of wheat to Tunisia, which supports the national economy and farmers.
Al -Khuza’i stressed that the support provided by the Ministry of Agriculture to farmers and farmers has witnessed a remarkable improvement in recent years, as continuous support and follow -up are provided, and solutions to the problems they face. He pointed out that there is a great renaissance in the agricultural sector in its various fields.
Hundreds of millions are wasted
To that, the agricultural expert and head of the Agriculture Committee in the former Iraqi parliament, Furat Al -Tamimi, stressed that Iraq spends between $ 250 and 300 million dollars at least to import agricultural crops, which are huge funds that can be directed towards supporting local production, which contributes to enhancing food security and reducing dependence on imports.
Al -Tamimi said in an interview with Al -Jazeera Net that “Iraq has important advantages in the agricultural sector that enables it to overcome the stage of self -sufficiency to export, especially since the experience has proven its success in this path when adopting a comprehensive strategy that focuses on modern technology in agriculture, which ensures economic feasibility in production, and reduces the impact of drought and lack of water sources.”
He pointed out, “The necessity of developing a strategic plan that guarantees the sustainability of the state of self -sufficiency throughout the year, so that these funds remain within the revenues of farmers, which contributes to creating an economic recovery in villages and countryside, and reduces their losses incurred by the agricultural sector in the past seasons.”
Electoral propaganda does not reflect reality.
For his part, Ahmed Al -Hassoun, Vice President of the General Union of Agricultural Associations in Iraq, criticized the statements of the Ministry of Agriculture, describing them as “far from reality” and “just electoral advertisements”.
Al -Hassoun questioned in an interview with Al -Jazeera Net, that the Ministry announced the achievement of self -sufficiency in the crop of wheat, explaining that Iraq has achieved self -sufficiency in the wheat crop last year only. As for this year, the situation is still not clear due to the climatic conditions and frost waves that affected production.
He added, “Last year witnessed a surplus of production, but it was not a surplus in the full sense, as Iraq continued to import wheat to mix it with the local product by 30%,” noting that “if our total consumption ranges between 5 to 6 million tons, then the presence of a surplus from two million to 3 million tons does not necessarily mean a surplus of export.”
Al -Hassoun pointed out that “the government distributed this surplus to the mills at a price of 450 thousand dinars (340 dollars) per ton, which confirms the absence of any export of Iraqi wheat.” He stressed: “There is currently no country importing wheat from Iraq.”
He pointed out that talking about the export of 13 types of crops is incorrect, as the Iraqi markets are full of imported and stated that there are the peaks of production of some crops, but there is no government strategy to store them, which leads to problems in distributing them during the shortages of production.
Al -Hassoun also criticized the development of the dates sector, stressing that the importer invades the Iraqi markets because of the quality of manufacturing and the best mobilization, stressing that the Ministry of Agriculture did not provide any real support for the agricultural sector and that its statements are merely personal jurisprudence and electoral propaganda.
He noted that the ministry talks about unrealistic matters and that it did not support the agricultural sector sufficiently and that its support was limited to the pivotal springs, which can only be used in the expensive desert areas.
Al -Hassoun stressed that the Ministry of Agriculture is far from the agricultural sector and does not have a clear strategic plan and that its statements raise many questions and that a large part of it is incorrect.
