As the role of the private sector in Iraq has increased since 2003, desert investment projects have attracted the attention of the sector.
Schemes for Agriculture and Livestock Production
550 square kilometers of desert area in the desert of Karbala Governorate has been converted into several agricultural and livestock production projects. After two years of operation, these projects have reached 25 percent of the local market demand for the poultry sector at 300 thousand tons. Whole chickens annually.
Maitham Sala Abood, director of egg laying program at one of the chicken production companies, says: “The Karbala Deserts Project is one of the projects of the agricultural city of Karbala. The desert war in Karbala led to the production land for this project. Currently, we have reached approximately 30 percent of its capacity, which is two million five lakh eggs daily. equal to production.”
Abboud added to Sky News Arabia: “What distinguishes this program is its reliance on 100 percent plant-based feed, and this is reflected in high-quality eggs that benefit Iraqi consumers.”
The agricultural sector also occupies a large part of the Karbala Agricultural City project, as work has been initiated by several stakeholders to cultivate wheat and barley crops, a new source of the Iraqi citizen’s food basket, based on modern irrigation techniques using underground water wells. And not river water.
Saif Mahmood, director of Karbala Desert Agriculture, explains: “Karbala Agricultural City’s plan to grow agricultural crops has more than 120 thousand units, one thousand sprayers, and a production capacity of 150 thousand tons of wheat per year. We started with this year. Agriculture, and this is considered the first phase, which, if we want, will be completed in the second season.” “God, this project is a quality addition to the agricultural sector of Iraq, because it uses modern technologies in irrigation. High quality of wheat and wheat seeds used as per international specifications.”
Saif Mahmood adds: “The scale of the projects implemented has turned the Sahara Desert of Karbala Governorate into a vibrant city after creating green agricultural spaces for growing wheat and barley and providing 10,000 jobs to youth, including labourers, engineers and doctors. ”
Especially after the establishment of a special power plant in the agricultural town of Karbala.
Converting deserts into productive agricultural and industrial lands is a project that primarily serves the needs of the local market and will contribute to reducing the drain on hard currency through food imports.
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