Farmers turn to the desert to grow dates as water crisis worsens in southern Iraq

Record ID: 2019169

  • Title: Farmers turn to the desert to grow dates as water crisis worsens in southern Iraq
  • Date: 4th August 2025
  • Summary: BASRA, IRAQ (JULY 29, 2025) (REUTERS) (PART MUTE) VARIOUS OF DRONE FOOTAGE SHOWING DATE PALM FARMS IN THE DESERT AREAS WEST OF BASRA (MUTE) VARIOUS OF FARMERS HARVESTING DATES AT A PALM FARM IN AL-SHUAIBA, WEST OF BASRA VARIOUS OF DATE PALM FARM OWNER, ABDUL WAHED AMIN AL-SHAWI, HARVESTING A TREE SHAWI INSPECTING DATES (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DATE PALM FARM OWNER, ABDUL WAHED
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: Baghdad Climate Date Environment Iraq
  • Location: BASRA, IRAQ
  • City: BASRA, IRAQ
  • Country: Iraq
  • Topics: Climate Change,Environment,General News,Middle East,Government / Politics,Climate Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA001427101082025RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Growing salinity in Iraq’s Shatt al-Arab waterway is forcing farmers to abandon their agricultural lands and relocate to desert areas west of Basra, where groundwater offers a more stable alternative.
    Basra relies primarily on the Shatt al-Arab and water drawn from the Tigris River via the Gharraf River and a man-made canal built in 1997. But declining water flows from upstream, compounded by drought and upstream dam projects mostly in Turkey, have led to a surge of seawater from the Arabian Gulf into the Shatt al-Arab, raising salinity to unprecedented levels.
    Farmer Abdul Wahed Amin al-Shawi, 51, moved his farm in 2010 from Abu Al-Khaseeb, east of Basra along the Shatt al-Arab waterway, to Al-Shuaiba, a desert area west of the city. He said there is now an "abundance in production", with his yield reaching one tonne per day at the peak of the season due to both environmental and logistical factors.
    "The salt tide generally weakened the palm trees there (in Abu Al-Khaseeb) and we did not have the space to plant at such a density (like in west of Basra). So, when I moved to the mainland, instead of 100 palm trees, I currently own 4,000 and I take care of 6,000," said Shawi. "The desert is vast and allows you to move around," he added.
    Others farmers, like Yali Salem Thajil, remain near the river and are seeing their output drop. His farm, irrigated by canals linked to the Shatt al-Arab, is now devastated. Thajil’s date harvest has declined from about 3,800 kilograms in the seasons of 2022 and 2023 to around a total 1,200 kilograms over this year’s season, he explained.
    "Until when will they (date palm trees) survive? We will wait for the winter, November or December, that is if it rained, but if it does not rain, it will remain like this," said the 53-year-old farmer.
    The director of the Palm Tree Department at the Directorate of Basra Agriculture, Dr. Jassem Mohammed Damad, said many farmers are now relying on groundwater with moderate salinity and adopting drip irrigation to manage water use.
    “Farmers will benefit from this water by planting palm trees and intercropping them with other vegetables,” he added.
    The shift comes amid broader concerns over Iraq’s water security, as the country's reliance on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers has become more precarious in recent years. Both rivers’ volumes have declined sharply, a problem made worse by upstream dams mostly in Turkey.
    In April 2024, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan visited Baghdad and pledged a 10-year water management deal to better address Iraq’s needs, but results have yet to be seen in Basra.
    (Production: Mohammed Atti, Maher Nazeh, Abir Al Ahmar)
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