A.R. Al-Rawi
IPA, P.O. Box 39094, Baghdad, Iraq
Iraq is situated in southwest Asia, between latitudes 29°N and 37°N and longitudes 38°E and 48°E, with an area of 440,000 km2. The country has a great diversity of climate, soil types and natural resources. Most of the area is very cold in winter and very hot in summer. Average rainfall varies from 100 to 1200 mm, but in 63% of the area the precipitation is between 100 and 300 mm. It has about 21 million inhabitants, of whom 70% live in urban areas. The average population growth rate is 3.1%. Animal production contributes 30% of the total agriculture income. Average animal protein consumption per capita is estimated at 2 g/day, with mean annual consumption per head of 2 kg of milk, 1.5 kg of meat, 1 kg of poultry, 1 kg of fish and 10 eggs (FAO 1995). Iraq, like many other West Asia and North Africa (WANA) countries, is unable to meet internal demand for animal products and there is growing interest in improving productivity in sustainable intensive systems. There are a number of constraints on livestock development, such as shortage of feed, lack of veterinary and extension services and unsatisfactory marketing and pricing policies. Several institutions are involved in livestock research, but few are directly responsible for on-farm application of results. Priority is given nationally to the improved production and utilisation of feed resources in mixed crop–livestock systems in both dry and irrigated areas and regionally to the performance of livestock for meat and milk production.
Five agro-ecological zones have been identified (Al-Khafaji 1996).
The mountains are situated in the north and north-east, with annual rainfall between 400 and 1200 mm, formed from limestone and separated by deep fertile valleys, where crops are grown.
The foothills are a transitional zone, between 200 and 1000 m above sea level, between the plains to the south and the mountains to the north. Average rainfall is between 800 and 900 mm. The soil is formed from sandstone and gravels and there is good natural range in these areas.
The northern dry farming belt comprises an area of 4 million hectares, with rainfall ranging from 200 to 500 mm. The area includes the Al-Jazera, the upper part of the region between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. This region is used mainly for wheat and barley production and for grazing.
The alluvial plains of Mesopotamia have a mean annual rainfall of 150 mm and summer temperatures rising to 44°C. Soils are calcareous and agriculture depends on irrigation. Agricultural production in this area, which was once very fertile and productive, is now limited by soil salinity.
The deserts are usually divided into the northern, or steppe, desert and the southern desert. Precipitation is between 100 and 200 mm. Temperatures rise to 50°C in summer, while in winter a few degrees of frost may be recorded. These areas provide some grazing for sheep, goats and camels.
Eight million hectares are used for rainfed and irrigated agriculture, and 3 million for grazing and forestry. Seventy per cent of the total area is unsuitable for agriculture. In irrigated areas, the average production of wheat is 1227 kg/ha and barley 966 kg/ha; in rainfed areas, wheat production is 963 kg/ha and barley 900 kg/ha. This low productivity is the result of many factors, including the lack of suitable cultivars for the different areas, poor management and failure to adopt modern agricultural methods.
The main water resources in the country are the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and their tributaries, which provide 42 billion cubic metres annually. Underground water resources provide a further 2 million cubic metres per year.
Animal populations are estimated at about 6.3 million sheep, 1.05 million goats, 1.12 million cattle, 98,000 buffalo and 10,000 camels. Sheep and goats are the main livestock in areas with an annual rainfall of less than 300 mm, while the majority of cattle and buffaloes are raised in the alluvial plain. Local breeds of livestock are kept in extensive production systems with minimum inputs. Livestock systems are generally similar to others in the WANA region, where animal production lags behind crop production in development and in the standard of management and husbandry. Traditionally, crop farming and livestock production have been carried out as separate activities. A large proportion of feed grains and other concentrated feeds are used for poultry, while roughages are the main source of feed for ruminants.
Native pasture is used primarily for grazing small ruminants. Where rainfall exceeds 250 mm, it includes land that is too steep or too stony, or soil that is too shallow for arable agriculture. Such pastures usually exist on the foothills and slopes of mountain ranges. Where rainfall is below 200 mm, especially in the steppe, native pastures cover most of the area. The vegetation is dominated by annual grasses, legumes and herbs. Generally, there are no specific property rights assigned to the rangelands and all flock owners have open access, as tribal control has been replaced by communal ownership. Stocking rates are low, approximately 1 sheep per hectare. Native pastures are grazed mainly in spring and rarely support livestock for the whole year. Smaller flocks use local grazing areas and weedy fallows, while larger flocks use the steppe.
Crop-based livestock systems exist in the dry farming zone in the north and in the central and southern plains. Wheat and barley are the main crops in the northern dry farming belt, with a limited area of about 35,000 ha, devoted to pulses, lentil and chickpea. Wheat or barley were generally grown in rotation with fallow but now are often in continuous cultivation (Adary and Kasim 1997). Barley is grown with minimum inputs, with yields ranging from 260 to 1380 kg/ha, and is more adapted to marginal land with rainfall below 350 mm. Sheep and goats are integrated into the system through stubble grazing and feeding barley grain and straw, especially during winter. Forage legumes, mainly vicia (Vicia sativa) and annual medics (Medicago spp), have been introduced in Al-Jazera to increase forage production and a wider introduction of forage legumes into barley rotation might be a useful alternative to either fallow or continuous cultivation.
Barley is not cut for hay, although mowers and balers supplied to farmers participating in the ICARDA Mashreq–Maghreb project have been used recently to make hay from a mixture of barley and vicia. More research is needed on suitable barley cultivars for hay.
In the central and southern plains of Iraq, about 80% of the 3.5 million hectares allocated for small grain winter production are used for irrigated barley, with low average yields, from 600 to 800 kg/ha, mainly because of the salinity of the soil. Dual-purpose barley cultivars have recently been introduced, which can be grazed directly by sheep or cattle and then left for grain production, or mown twice. Green forage production is estimated at 16 t/ha and grain production at 3.5 t/ha. Alfalfa and clover are also grown in a limited area in the plains.
There are four distinct types of animal production in Iraq:
1. Traditional nomadic, transhumant and sedentary systems—flocks of sheep and goats are grazed extensively on natural vegetation in communal rangelands in the foothills, mountains and steppe during spring. During summer, flocks graze stubble in Al-Jazera; during autumn and winter they are generally fed crop residues supplemented with grain. Productivity is generally low.
2. The household system—sheep, goats and cattle, in both rural and urban areas, are kept near the house to provide milk for the family. Productivity is extremely low, as most farmers are more concerned with minimising costs and risks rather than maximising profits.
3. The lamb-fattening system—1 million lambs from the range are fattened for 3 months, from the age of 4–5 months (18–20 kg) until slaughter at 40 kg.
4. The modern or semi-intensive system for dairy cattle projects—green fodder is produced in irrigated areas in an integrated crop–livestock system.
The main constraints are
Resources for agricultural research are limited and unlikely to increase. Therefore, priorities need to be established that take into account food security, the alleviation of poverty and the protection of the environment. Previous research has failed to generate substantial technical and economic returns for several reasons, including:
Livestock research priorities should not only contribute to improving the efficiency of livestock production and to integrating livestock into sustainable systems but must also take into account rural development, equity, food security, social development and institution building, and gender issues, as well as better use of financial resources (ILRI 1997). Making choices on research issues in livestock development is difficult and complex. Kirschke (1993) suggests that the marginal benefit of research should be considered to focus on the crucial elements, which include increased production, the impact of research or potential change, the efficient use and optimisation of resources. A multicriteria approach is necessary, which should include the probability of success and a time limit when several goals are being pursued. Table 1 shows a livestock research activity matrix with priorities for Iraq.
Although new vaccines and high-yielding genotypes have been developed and nutrition has improved, there is still a severe shortage of animal products. More funds should be made available for applied research and development, especially in crop–livestock systems, feed production, genetics and health. Product and market research are needed to improve the efficiency of milk and meat production and for financial security. Such research should be initiated into these priority areas.
The traditional crop rotation of wheat or barley and fallow has been replaced, because of sanctions, by continuous wheat or barley cultivation, although yields are low. Before the Mashreq–Maghreb project was established, forage legumes were not used in rotations with barley in Al-Jazera. The gap between researchers and farmers is a limiting factor in conducting on-farm trials. Funding and support from international organizations such as the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and ICARDA are vital both for basic research and for initiating new diagnostic research.
Table 1. Research priorities.
| Agricultural zone | Range of application | |||||
| Species | Dry | Irrigated | National | Regional | Internat’l | |
| Nature of research | SCGB | |||||
| Adaptive | . . . | ***** | ***** | ***** | ||
| Applied | . . . | *** | *** | ** | * | * |
| Strategic | . . . | * | * | * | * | *** |
| Basic | . . . | * | * | ** | * | ** |
| Strategy | ||||||
| Short term | . . . | * | **** | *** | ** | * |
| Medium term | . . . | ** | ** | * | ** | * |
| Long term | . . . | **** | * | * | ** | *** |
| Mixed crop–livestock | ||||||
| Production and utilisation of feed resources | SG | ***** | ** | **** | * | *** |
| CB | * | ***** | *** | * | ** | |
| Legumes for smallholder dual-purpose cattle production | C | * | *** | **** | * | ** |
| Feed resources | ||||||
| Effect of diet composition, supplementation and feed supply on performance | SCGB | **** | ** | *** | ** | * |
| Estimation of quality of forage, crop residues and agro-industrial by-products | SCGB | *** | *** | *** | * | * |
| Natural resource management | SG | *** | * | * | *** | ** |
| Rumen microbes with enhanced ability to degrade fibre | SCGB | * | *** | ** | * | *** |
| Health | ||||||
| Production and evaluation of vaccines for theileria and rinderpest | C | * | *** | * | ** | *** |
| Enterotoxaemia | S | ** | * | * | ** | *** |
| Diagnosis and treatment of brucellosis | SG | *** | *** | * | *** | ** |
| Fertility | SCGB | **** | *** | *** | ** | * |
| Genetics | ||||||
| Indigenous breed characterisation | SCGB | **** | ***** | * | ** | ***** |
| Disease and heat tolerance | SCGB | **** | *** | * | ** | *** |
| Meat production | SCGB | ***** | *** | * | ***** | ** |
| Milk production | SCGB | *** | **** | * | ***** | ** |
***** high priority; * low priority; S – sheep; G – goat; C – cattle; B – buffalo.
Agricultural research in Iraq started in 1952, with the establishment of the Directorate General of Agricultural Research and Projects. Institutions currently involved in livestock research are the IPA Agricultural Research Centre, the State Board for Agricultural Research (Ministry of Agriculture), the Biological Sciences Research Centre of the Department of Atomic Energy, faculties of agriculture of the universities of Baghdad, Basrah, Mosul, Tikrit and Enbar, and colleges of veterinary medicine in the universities of Baghdad and Mosul.
Since 1990, the IPA Research Centre has participated in the ICARDA Mashreq project for technological development and transfer, to promote the development of integrated crop–livestock production in low rainfall areas. In 1995, it joined the new Mashreq and Maghreb project, which extended the work to include property rights research. A programme on water-harvesting techniques is being conducted in the marginal rainfed area, 200–250 mm, where the land is mainly used for barley and sheep production.
Adary A. and Kasim K. 1997. Forage production technologies in Iraq. ICARDA Consultancy Report. ICARDA (International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas), Aleppo, Syria.
Al-Khafaji A.A. 1996. Prospect for Utilization of Water Harvesting Techniques in Marginal Rain-Fed Area in Iraq. A study presented to the regional project, On-farm water husbandry in WANA. ICARDA (International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas), Aleppo, Syria.
FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations). 1995. Evaluation of the State of Food in Iraq. FAO, Rome, Italy.
ILRI (International Livestock Research Institute). 1997. Medium-Term Strategy 1998–2002. ILRI, Nairobi, Kenya.
Kirschke D. 1993. Research priority setting for livestock development in developing countries. In: Richter J., Peters K.J. and Franzen H.(eds). Livestock Development in Developing Countries: Development Issues and Research Needs. Proceedings of an International Workshop held at Weilhein, Germany, 17–20 May, 1993. DSE (German Foundation for International Development).
Shideed K.H. and Salman A.D. 1996. Producion, utilization, economic assessment and adoption of by-product feed blocks in Iraq. ICARDA Consultancy Report. ICARDA (International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas), Aleppo, Syria.
