Foreign crops flood Iraq... and farmers suffer heavy losses

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[size=52]Foreign crops flood Iraq... and farmers suffer heavy losses[/size]

[size=45]The huge losses suffered by farmers in Iraq as a result of flooding the markets with foreign crops, is driving towards deepening the agricultural crisis in the country, which is already witnessing a scarcity of water resources and the financing necessary for business, as many are forced to either sell their crops at low prices or destroy them and migrate the land to other businesses.[/size]
[size=45]Despite the government banning the import of quite a few locally grown crops, the decision remains a dead letter, according to actors in the sector and economists, noting that the markets are full of foreign crops that enter through unofficial border crossings.[/size]
[size=45]Ammar Al-Tamimi Abu Ahmed, a farmer in Babil Governorate (central Iraq), says that he has more than 40 dunams (a dunam is equivalent to a thousand square meters), and he does not have any source of livelihood other than this land, so he is forced to cultivate it, while he complains about the competition of foreign crops. for his crop, pointing out that there is an intention to flood the market in the season of abundance with production.[/size]
[size=45]Abu Ahmed added to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that he grows okra, eggplant, tomatoes, potatoes and watermelon. These crops, despite the great effort he puts in with his children and the financial losses during the planting season, do not reap a financial return for him at all, and the season often ends with heavy losses.[/size]
[size=45]He attributes the reason to “the amount of foreign agricultural products that enter the market with the abundance of local production, which prompts merchants to force farmers to sell their products at a low price without government accountability,” pointing out that “there are some farmers who are forced to destroy their crops or distribute them for free to citizens.” instead of selling it at a loss to merchants.[/size]
[size=45]For his part, Salam Mohsen, the owner of a grape farm in Diyala Governorate (northeast of the capital, Baghdad), says that “the current agricultural season represents the worst season he has gone through,” explaining that he was forced to sell his entire product for one and a half million dinars (equivalent to a thousand dollars), although His farm produced nearly four tons of the finest grapes.[/size]
[size=45]Mohsen assures Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that he sold his product to a merchant before the harvest season for fear of damage or the absence of anyone to buy it during the season of abundance, indicating that the price at which he sold his crop does not cover a quarter of the annual expenses he spends on his farm. He adds that he decided that this season would be the last, and he would sell it and resort to another profession that would provide him with his livelihood.[/size]
[size=45]A member of the Union of Agricultural Associations in Diyala Governorate, Ammar Ali, reveals that “85% of the agricultural crop in the markets of the city of Diyala is imported from several countries, while the market depends on 15% of local production, although the city is one of the Iraqi cities that owns vast land suitable for reclamation.” agricultural.”[/size]
[size=45]Ali adds, in exclusive statements, that “neighboring countries provide support for this sector, contrary to Iraq’s policy in this regard, which led to a discrepancy in prices and the tendency towards importers for their low prices from different countries and of all types. And he confirms that this matter has had negative effects on the national economy due to the loss of the agricultural sector and dependence on the cheap imported product, calling on government agencies to support the sector, improve the agricultural situation and reduce imported products.[/size]
[size=45]Food security expert Abbas Mahdi points out that dumping the markets with imported products exacerbates the problems of the agricultural sector and its workers, who mainly suffer from water scarcity, electricity outages, and the migration of rural residents to the city, which has increased in an unprecedented way, which leads to a setback for the sector.[/size]
[size=45]Mahdi told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that it is the government’s duty to give the issue of land reclamation utmost importance, after the local environment has become repellent and discouraging to agriculture.[/size]
[size=45]The area of ​​exploited agricultural land in Iraq is 18 million dunums out of 32 million dunums, according to recent statements by the Minister of Agriculture, Muhammad Karim al-Khafaji, after it was all exploited before the US invasion of Iraq nearly 20 years ago.[/size]
[size=45]As for the area of ​​natural and artificial forests, they constitute only 6.1% of the total area of ​​​​Iraq, according to what was reported by the Central Agency for Government Statistics in 2020, which indicated that 69% of agricultural areas have deteriorated due to drought, and large areas of them have been subjected to deforestation and desertification.[/size]
[size=45]In turn, the expert on customs affairs, Mustafa Al-Faraj, stresses the need to find a mechanism to limit the smuggling of goods through unofficial outlets, explaining to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that “there are dozens of unofficial outlets in the Kurdistan region (northern Iraq) through which various goods are smuggled. And products without control, which poses a great danger to the Iraqi economy, because these outlets are not subject to qualitative and quantitative control by the government.[/size]
[size=45]He points out that “most of these crossings are in the Ibrahim al-Khalil border area, and the official crossings in Kurdistan are not subject to the official customs tariff of the state and follow their own tariff that the central government cannot control.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Faraj calls for “the importance of all Iraqi outlets being subject to the central authority to control the quantity and type of goods entering the country, because the continuation of the matter not only causes losses to the economy, but also represents a threat to the lives of Iraqis because there are goods and merchandise that are not subject to health control and may be expired.” [/size]
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