A ministerial decision removes 75% of Babylon's agricultural lands from the winter plan

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[size=52]A ministerial decision removes 75% of Babylon's agricultural lands from the winter plan[/size]

[size=45]Babylon / Jalil Al-Ghazi[/size]
[size=45]During the winter season, the Ministry of Agriculture decided to plant 106 thousand dunums of wheat this year for Babylon Governorate, which is equivalent to 25% of the area of ​​its agricultural land, while the other areas remain uncultivated, which is likely to turn the entirety of these agricultural areas into barren lands that negatively reflect on the environmental reality in the future.[/size]
[size=45]The director of Babil Agriculture, Thamer Al-Khafaji, said in an interview with (Al-Mada) that "the current season's plan for wheat and barley crops is estimated at only 25%, which is half the percentage allocated to the governorate last year due to the water crisis that the governorate is experiencing."[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out, "Reducing the agricultural plan to a quarter of the governorate's area of ​​agricultural land will affect food security, as well as directly affecting the economic level of farmers."[/size]
[size=45]Al-Khafaji added that "the ministry was refusing to cultivate any percentage of agricultural land for the winter season, but the directorate insisted on allocating a specific percentage so that a number of farmers could continue to work."[/size]
[size=45]For his part, the head of the agricultural associations in Babel, Musa Kateh, said in a statement to (Al-Mada) that "the decision of the Ministry of Agriculture regarding the current season's plan has angered farmers, and there will be mass demonstrations denouncing the decision, especially since the decision allows cultivating lands close to rivers only to ensure that they have access to water."[/size]
[size=45]And he indicated that “there are many farmers who depend on the water of the cesspools as well as the underground wells, which makes the decision to set the current season’s plan at 25% unjust and did not do justice to the farmer,” calling for the need for “the ministry to allow agriculture, each according to his ability, especially since there are farmers who rely on modern sprinklers that You don't need a lot of water.”[/size]
[size=45]The agricultural associations expressed their astonishment at the ministry’s decision to allow agricultural lands near rivers only for winter cultivation, stressing that “the decision will cause disputes between farmers and may reach disputes between regions.”[/size]
[size=45]For his part, a member of agricultural associations, Abdel Hassan Mohamed, told Al-Mada that “the unfair decisions of the Ministry of Agriculture towards the farmer have caused the displacement of more than 35% of farmers towards the city, which has exacerbated the unemployment and housing crisis.”[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out that "the rural areas are no longer what they used to be, as many gardens and trees have been destroyed, in addition to the decline of livestock in a very large way as a result of the disappearance of pastures, forcing their owners to sell them in order to preserve them from destruction as well."[/size]
[size=45]And the advisor of the Ministry of Water Resources, Aoun Diab, had confirmed earlier this week that "Iraq is going through the most difficult year of water drought since 1930."[/size]
[size=45]Diab added, "The ministry has strongly warned of the repercussions of this situation on the most important sectors, the most important of which is the agricultural sector." He pointed out, "Our work was focused on not depleting the water reserves available to us in the dams, and we give specific quantities according to a well-studied plan for the purpose of securing the priorities that we have, which is drinking water and human uses."[/size]
[size=45]Diab stressed that "the current threat is focused on the areas that are supposed to be planted during the next winter season."[/size]
[size=45]He noted, "The quantities of water entering the reservoirs are less than what comes out of them, and this means that we are facing a continuous decline in the strategic reserves."[/size]
[size=45]Diab promised, "This thing is frightening, with weather forecasts from satellites in various countries, such as the American, European and Russian, that this fall will have limited and ineffective rain."[/size]
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