Iraq Business News brings you the latest news on developments and opportunities in Iraq agriculture.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has reported that it is assisting farmers in Iraq and Syria to battle a devastating alien weed that sucks nutrients from the soil and starves crops of much-needed water. The berries of the weed, known as silverleaf nightshade (Solanum elaeagnifolium), can also poison livestock if ingested, according […]
Basra's Investment Commission says it is making efforts to attract local and foreign investors to the Al-Ahwar (The Marshes) areas south of Iraq, according to a report from Aswat al-Iraq. Haidar Ali Fadhil, Director of the Commission, added that all sectors will be considered, but with a focus on tourism and agriculture in particular. The […]
The harvesting of wheat and barley crops has began in northern Iraq’s Kirkuk Province on Sunday, according to a report from Aswat al-Iraq. Kirkuk’s Agriculture Director, Mahdi Mubarak told Aswat al-Iraq news agency: “The campaign to harvest wheat and barley crops began in Kirkuk areas today [Sunday], May 15th, for the harvesting of more than […]
By Ronald P Verdonk, Agricultural Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. In my last piece I made mention of a sizable irrigation equipment purchase by Iraq’s Ministry of Agriculture and underscored the role the private sector needs to play to contribute to the revitalization of the agricultural sector. In this edition of the blog, […]
The KRG's Ministry of Agriculture has said that any farmer can get an agricultural loan of up to 100 million Iraqi dinars [$83,000] from the Government. The agriculture minister said that the Kurdistan Regional Government has allocated 100 billion Iraqi dinars from the budget for the current year, in order to enable farmers to borrow […]
AKnews reports that the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture has announced the allocation of $285 million [350 billion Iraqi dinars] for the rehabilitation of the country’s palm groves. Ministry spokesman Karim al-Tamimi told the agency that $177.3m of the allocation will fund an investment plan put together by the General Authority of Palms, $76.3m will be […]
The Grain Board of Iraq said that Iraq intends to purchase 3.25 million tons of wheat this year, up from to 1,9 million tons last year. The company said that part of the wheat will be used to enhance its strategic stockpile. Hasan Ibrahim said that the 3.25 million tons of wheat will cover the […]
Iraq has approved an ambitious $37-billion [45 trillion Iraqi dinar] programme to upgrade Iraq's collapsing infrastructure, which has fallen victim to three decades of war and sanctions, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh (pictured) said on Tuesday. AFP reports that the cabinet's plans, which must now be approved by parliament, are the latest in efforts by the […]
The Iraqi Agriculture Ministry revealed Sunday that Iraq is producing 50% of the wheat the country requires. The ministry's spokesman, Karim al-Tamimi, told AKnews, "Iraq currently produces only two million tonnes of wheat due to lack of water needed for cultivation as well as the migration of many farmers from villages to cities." "The Ministry […]
The Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources announced on Monday a significant decline in water levels in the country’s strategic Mosul and Haditha (pictured) dams due to a lack of rainfall in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and a reduction in water flow from Turkey, Syria and Iran. Director of Projects Ali Hashim told AKnews that […]
Basra Investment Commission has granted an investment license for an agricultural project to construct a technical laboratory for tissue cultivation in a cost of 4.8 billion Iraqi Dinars [$4m]. The project includes the building of a laboratory to produce palm trees and plants by using tissues. It also includes a research and studies centre to […]
Iraq has taken delivery of 400,000 metric tons of wheat and 127,000 tons of rice, according to Hassan Ismail Ibrahim, director general of the country’s Grain Board. Bloomberg reports that eight ships delivered the wheat from the U.S. and Australian suppliers, and four more boats unloaded rice imported from Thailand at the southern port of […]
