{"id":278602,"date":"2026-09-04T23:34:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T23:34:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/278602\/"},"modified":"2026-09-04T23:34:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T23:34:09","slug":"shafaq-news-iraq-achieves-wheat-and-date-self-sufficiency-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/278602\/","title":{"rendered":"Shafaq News..Iraq achieves wheat and date self-sufficiency in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n 2026-09-04T23:05:38+00:00<\/p>\n

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Shafaq News- Baghdad<\/p>\n

Iraq has achieved self-sufficiency in wheat and dates in the
\n2026 agricultural season, the Agriculture Ministry announced Friday, saying it
\nwould continue measures to support domestic production and reduce reliance on
\nimports.<\/p>\n

The Ministry spokesperson Qusay al-Hattab told Shafaq News
\nthat Iraq had maintained wheat<\/a> self-sufficiency for three consecutive
\nagricultural seasons, including the current 2026 season.<\/p>\n

The ministry has developed new wheat seed varieties that are
\ntolerant of salinity and climate-related stresses, while providing farmers with
\nsubsidized irrigation sprinklers through installment plans extending up to 10
\nyears, with a one-year grace period, al-Hattab explained.<\/p>\n

Irrigation systems supported through an Austrian loan
\nprogram receive a 33% subsidy, reducing the cost of a system to about 49
\nmillion Iraqi dinars from 70 million dinars (about $37,300, down from $53,000).\n<\/p>\n

The remaining amount can be paid over 10 years following a
\none-year grace period, he added, noting that the ministry also plans to
\nmaintain wheat self-sufficiency next season<\/a> under its winter agricultural plan.\n<\/p>\n

Iraq has also achieved self-sufficiency in dates this year,
\nwith the ministry working to preserve the country\u2019s long history of date-palm
\ncultivation, the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

The number of date palms in Iraq has increased from about 12
\nmillion after 2003 to 22 million in 2026, according to al-Hattab. The increase
\nhas helped boost production and achieve self-sufficiency in dates, with Zahdi
\ndates accounting for the largest share.<\/p>\n

To reduce reliance on imported crops and agricultural
\nproducts, the ministry follows an agricultural calendar that imposes standing
\nimport bans on 33 products, while another 15 are subject to temporary
\nrestrictions that can be lifted when domestic supplies are insufficient,
\nal-Hattab explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe import restrictions are intended to support domestic
\nproducers, particularly when Iraqi crops, including fruits, vegetables, and
\ntomatoes, are available in sufficient quantities,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Decisions on import needs are based on assessments by
\nspecialized committees within the ministry\u2019s Planning and Follow-up Department.
\nThe committees monitor markets and conduct daily or near-daily inspection
\nvisits to Alawi Jameela, Al-Rashid, and Jameela markets before submitting
\nreports to the relevant authorities.<\/p>\n

Import decisions are therefore not made automatically, he
\nstressed, but follow an assessment of market conditions. When domestic supplies
\nare sufficient, imports are unnecessary; if shortages emerge, the possibility
\nof allowing imports is considered after a detailed review.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"2026-09-04T23:05:38+00:00 font Enable Reading Mode A- A A+ Shafaq News- Baghdad Iraq has achieved self-sufficiency in wheat and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":278603,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[14],"tags":[152,72169,94,75960,15671],"class_list":["post-278602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-iraq","tag-breaking","tag-dates","tag-iraq","tag-iraq-achieves-wheat-and-date-self-sufficiency-in-2026","tag-wheat"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/117215393348694342","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=278602"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278602\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/278603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=278602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=278602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=278602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}