In a remarkable shift toward sustainable agriculture, Iraqi farmers are reclaiming desert land using advanced sprinkler irrigation systems, a response to the country’s worsening water crisis. With much of Iraq suffering from prolonged drought, declining rainfall, and reduced water flow from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, farmers in arid regions such as Najaf, Anbar, and Karbala have turned to groundwater-fed sprinkler systems to grow staple crops. In Najaf alone, farmland has expanded to over 850,000 hectares, and wheat yields have increased from 7 to 12 tonnes per hectare, according to local agricultural offices. Farmers now irrigate their fields only two to three times a week, a major improvement from water-intensive traditional flood methods.
Backed by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and Iraq’s Ministry of Agriculture, over 1,100 farmers have adopted sprinkler or drip irrigation systems that use up to 70% less water. These systems have enabled the cultivation of a wide variety of crops, including barley, rice, eggplant, watermelon, and cucumbers. In some regions, drought-resistant rice varieties are now being grown using sprinklers—an innovation in a country where rice was traditionally cultivated only through water-heavy flooding. While these irrigation techniques are helping reduce water waste and boost food security, experts caution that over-extraction of groundwater could lead to long-term sustainability challenges unless properly regulated. More