Climate change-related losses are driving the migration of farmers in Iraq

Climate change-related losses are driving the migration of farmers in Iraq

Farmers in Iraq are experiencing increasing levels of crop failure as climate change results in more extreme temperatures and droughts.

This is leading to increased migration to cities, but there may not be enough work there for all the new arrivals.

Farmers need help to adapt, such as drought-resistant crop varieties and better drip irrigation systems, a UN World Food Programme representative says.

The Iraqi government is providing a hybrid wheat seed designed to stand up to worsening soil salinity, wind and sand storms.



Until a few years ago, farming in southern Iraq was "as lucrative as oil", Qasim Abdul Wahad remembers, and his one-hectare farm plot in the governate of Basra produced enough to feed his family of eight.

Now dust kicks up under his feet as he walks through his land, after worsening extreme heat and drought linked to climate change killed 90% of his winter crops, including all of his okra and eggplant.

"Only a few years ago I would be able to sit here and relax. It was very green and beautiful. When I look at it now, I feel like a member of my family is gone," the 50-year-old said.

Abdul Wahad, who has spent his