Iraq Farmers Turn To Groundwater To Boost Desert Yield

ETVBHARAT

Iraqi wheat farmers have turned to drilling wells in the desert to help sustain the country's agriculture, using equipment to water crops through sprinklers.

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00:00in Iraq's dry deserts farmers are turning to ground water to grow wheat like Hadi

00:13sahib who switched from rainwater to pivot sprinklers in 2013 he says without ground

00:21water and drilling wells continuing would be impossible

00:25this modern method uses far less water

00:55than traditional flooding but it's not without risk

01:01monim Shahid from Nadja's agricultural direct rate warns that while farmers see

01:06big returns we must conserve and regulate groundwater to prevent depletion

01:11taba nila al-fala ha no one issue for no more dude to sadi cabirum was a hot to

01:17zara bi-shakel cabiru kimmy at in touch alia kid raha t-con at the rabbi

01:21bi-an yizrach a cb-m saha yuhfur a cb-a-cb-a-cb-a-d in the abar illa anu yaini

01:28We need to focus on the water and the water and the water.

01:42The area is more than the area is to the area.

01:47The area is not to be able to get 700 kg to 1,220 kg

01:56But the coastal region is the way to the way to the river

02:00and also to improve the areas that are needed in the coastal region

02:06which are small areas.

02:08Still, yields in the desert are now higher than those from river irrigated lands.

02:13Farmer Fahad Abdullah shares his concern.

02:17Frost and no rainfall damaged most of the harvest this year.

02:21We haven't come here yet and there was a natural disaster.

02:25I can see this. There are many places.

02:27What is the forest?

02:29And they hit it.

02:31So now the situation is more dangerous.

02:33I mean, if you want to get out of it, you can get out of it.

02:38Despite challenges, hope remains.

02:41In Karbala, the Imam Hussain Shrine is leading efforts to reclaim desert land.

02:47Head of the Shrine's Agriculture Department says,

02:50we aim to expand farming using modern irrigation.

02:53Reaching 15,000 dhanams is our goal.

02:56One of the goals of the Amantia

02:57The Amantia

03:18We have achieved what we wanted and what we needed to increase the growth like this.

03:29Iraq's farmers are reviving deserts, but the future of farming depends on protecting the

03:34water beneath their feet.

03:48For more information visit www.fema.gov

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