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Drought threatens Kurdistan’s economy
Prepared By : The Kurish Globe- Erbil
The Kurdish Globe NO. 144 Jan. 30. 2008
http://www.kurdishglobe.net/servlet/WritePDFServlet?ID=109

The lack of rain in Kurdistan Region has seriously harmed the agriculture sector and other sectors, and it is only expected to worsen.

“The rain didn’t begin on time and the rate is drastically lower than the previous year,” said Abdul-Rahim Omer, head of Erbil Agriculture Directorate’s water-plant protection department. “Eighty percent of farmers failed to cultivate their agricultural land, especially corn crops, due to the dryness and rigidness of the ground—a direct result of lack of rain.”

In Kurdistan, the suitable period of rain for agriculture is between October and November. If it doesn’t rain during that period, the ground will not be wet enough for cultivation and therefore will not be useful for agriculture. Thus, this year, the majority of agricultural lands are not suitable for agriculture, and this will harm the farmers and the agriculture sector in the region as a whole.

Besides agriculture, drought has other negative effects such as lowering the level of underground and surface water, spreading various animal and plant diseases, and harming tourism, the environment, and other sectors.

Omer said the problem has occurred every year since 1994. “We have advised the farmers to make use of underground water through wells for their farms in case of delayed rain,” Omer added.

Anis Abdul-Ahmed, an officialfrom KRG Ministry of Environment, believes that Kurdistan’s weather is becoming similar to that of a desert.

“This is due to lack of trees that help humidity and cleanness of air,” Abdul-Ahmed says. “If there are no trees in the cities, the carbon dioxide produced from vehicles and industries will increase in the air and prevent steam from moving up and generating rain.