Thursday, 28 January 2016

النهوض بقطاع الإنتاج الزراعي والحيواني بالخصخصة الذكية والتنمية المستدامة

سد الموصل


محمد توفيق علاوي/شفق
لا تقل أهمية القطاع الزراعي والحيواني عن أهمية القطاع الصناعي، ولكن الحديث بهذا الشأن ذو شجون، ولا تنفع الحلول الترقيعية  المتخذة إلى حد الآن، فإن لم تتخذ حلول سريعة وجذرية فإن هذا القطاع سيتراجع بشكل كبير في السنين القادمة وسينهار بشكل شبه كامل كما ورد في الكثير من الدراسات والتقارير العالمية بحدود عام ٢٠٤٠، حيث من المتوقع أن تهبط كميات المياه في دجلة والفرات وترتفع نسبة الملوحة بحيث لا يمكن ألإستفادة من المياه للسقي والشرب وغيرها من ألإستعمالات، إننا في هذا البحث سنحاول دراسة المشاكل الواقعة والمتوقعة وطرح الحلول الواقعية والمطلوبة، ولا أخفي على القاريء الكريم أن هذه الدراسة ليست من بناة أفكاري فحسب بل هي خلاصة بحوث ودراسات معمقة ونقاشات مع بعض أهل الإختصاص في هذه الجوانب. 
إن هذا البحث سيتضمن خمسة محاور وهي:
1- حوض نهر دجلة والفرات.
2- الإنتاج الزراعي.
3- الإنتاج الحيواني.
4- الهيئة العليا للزراعة والري.
5- ألخصخصة الذكية والتنمية المستدامة.
   1- حوض نهر دجلة والفرات: كميات المياه التي تدخل العراق من خلال نهر الفرات بعد إنشاء عدة سدود على الفرات في سوريا كانت تبلغ (٢٣مليار م٣) والآن لا تتجاوز ال (١٣ مليار م٣)، أما نهر دجلة فكان ما يدخل من تركيا بحدود (٢٨مليار م٣) والآن (١٨مليار م٣) وأما ما يدخل من دجلة من أيران فكان بحدود (٣٠مليار م٣) والآن يبلغ بحدود (١١مليار م٣)، [هذه الكميات في الأوضاع الإعتيادية أما في مواسم الجفاف فتكون أقل من ذلك بكثير]، أما نهر الكارون الذي يصب في شط العرب فكان بحدود (٢٧مليار م٣)، والآن توقف بالكامل، ولو كان الأمر سيتوقف على ما نحن عليه فإننا لا زلنا بكل خير، ولكن من المتوقع أن تتقلص هذه الكميات كما ذكرنا سابقاً إلى حدود لا يمكن الإستفادة منها للري وللشرب وسيتحول العراق إلى منطقة صحراوية لا تختلف عن السعودية وأغلب بلدان الخليج……..
فما هوالحل ؟
أ. أول عناصر الحل تتمثل بالتفاهم مع تركيا وأيران: حيث ذكر رئيس جمهورية تركيا السابق سليمان ديميرل في حفل افتتاح سد اتاتورك اذ قال “إن مياه الفرات ودجلة تركية، ومصادر هذه المياه هي موارد تركية، كما أن آبار النفط تعود ملكيتها إلى العراق وسورية، ونحن لا نقول لسورية والعراق إننا نشاركهما مواردهما النفطية، ولا يحق لهما القول إنهما تشاركانا مواردنا المائية، إنها مسألة سيادة.”
يجب أن تتعامل الحكومة مع هذا الأمر بواقعية، حيث لا ينفعنا المطالبة بالإتفاقيات الدولية لتقاسم المياه في العالم، نعم يمكننا الإستمرار بل يجب الإستمرار بطرح هذا الأمر، ولكن النتيجة أن تركيا مستمرة ببناء السدود حيث بلغ عدد السدود التي أنشأت حتى الآن (٢٠٨) سد وعدد السدود تحت الإنشاء والمزمع إنشاءها (٢١٠) سد، حيث حين الإنتهاء منها سيحرم العراق من أكثر من ٩٥٪ من مياه دجلة والفرات القادمة من تركيا وسيتحول العراق إلى بلد صحراوي.
إن السدود التركية المشيدة والمنوي إشادتها في المستقبل تغطي حاجتها من الكهرباء وهذا ليس له أي تأثير على كميات المياه، ولكن الخطورة في المياه المستخدمة للري، حيث إن المنتجات الزراعية لتركيا على صنفين، صنف للإستهلاك المحلي وصنف للتصدير، والتصدير هدفه الحصول على الأموال لدعم إقتصاد البلد، وبهذه الأموال تستورد تركيا الوقود وأغلبه من العراق، بإمكاننا أن نتفاوض مع الأتراك بمبدأ (نعطيكم من الوقود ما يسد حاجاتكم مجاناً وبالمقابل تعطونا من المياه ما يسد حاجاتنا)، إن حاجة تركيا من النفط الخام سنوياً يعادل  ما يقارب١٠٪ من النفط الخام المنتج في العراق ويمكن أن يصل إلى ٥٪ في بضع سنين بعد زيادة الإنتاج النفطي إلى (١٢) مليون برميل في اليوم؛ إن الحفاظ على نهري دجلة والفرات والحفاظ على العراق كبلد زراعي والحفاظ على الأراضي الخضراء في العراق يستحق التضحية ب ١٠٪ من الإنتاج النفطي، ولكن ذلك الأمر يستدعي من الحكومة العراقية التحرك باسرع وقت لعقد اتفاقية مع الجانب التركي كما ذكرنا أعلاه لأيقاف ألأتراك عن الأستمرار ببناء السدود. للأسف الشديد أعتقد أن هذه الحكومة هي حكومة مشلولة لن تتخذ أي خطوة كبيرة للحفاظ على البلد وعلى مستقبله،  لقد قدمت نصائح للحكومة في السابق لأيقاف سرقات المصرف المركزي، وقدمت لها مقترحات لتلافي الوقوع في وضع لن تكون قادرة على دفع معاشات الموظفين، ولكنهم للأسف يبقون في مواضعهم متفرجين وكأن الأمر لا يعنيهم، وكأننا لا يمكن أن نصل إلى يوم سنكون عاجزين عن دفع معاشات الموظفين، وكأن الدينار العراقي لا يمكن أن ينهار إذا ما أستهلك أحتياطي البنك المركزي كما هو متوقع خلال فترة تتراوح بين بضعة أشهر إلى سنتين على أبعد الحدود.
أما أيران فقد تقلصت مياه روافد دجلة بشكل كبير، اما نهر كارون على شط العرب فقد غير مساره وانقطع بالكامل، وجفت الكثير من المزارع والبساتين في محافظة ديالى، وتوقفت الزراعة وهجر المزارعون أراضيهم في أغلب أراضي محافظة البصرة التي تعتمد على الري من شط العرب، حيث أمتد لسان من المياه المالحة من الخليج العربي إلى أعماق شط العرب. لقد تقلصت أعداد النخيل في البصرة من حوالي (١٣) مليون نخلة إلى حوالي (٢) مليون نخلة في يومنا الحالي وتحولت منطقة الفاو التي كانت مليئة بملايين النخيل وبساتين الفواكه بمسافة (١٢٠) كلم إلى أراضي بور وصحراء قاحلة، لقد بدأت المشكلة من ثمانينات القرن السابق في فترة الحرب العراقية الإيرانية، ولكن منذ عام ٢٠٠٣ بدأ الوضع يتدهور بشكل متسارع بسبب زيادة الملوحة وقلة المياه. وتم القضاء على كافة أشجار الحناء التي كانت تزرع بشكل تجاري واسع في منطقة الفاو بسبب زيادة ملوحة الماء.
إن علاقة السياسيين العراقيين بالسياسيين الإيرانيين منذ السقوط حتى يومنا هذا علاقة جيدة، من مستوى دائرة رئيس الجمهورية إلى رآسة الوزراء والوزراء إلى رآسة مجلس النواب والنواب إلى أغلب الكتل السياسية والسياسيين في الساحة العراقية، أما أيران فهي دولة مؤسسات، وتعمل كل مؤسسة في مجالها خدمة لأبناء شعبها، المشكلة في السياسيين العراقيين والذين يذهبون بشكل دوري ومكوكي إلى الجمهورية الإسلامية في إيران لا يتصدون إلى تلك المواضيع، فكل همهم منصب على إستجداء التأييد الإيراني للبقاء على سدة الحكم، وإن طرحت مواضيع المياه فتطرح على إستحياء وبشكل خجول وكأمر ثانوي، وألإيرانيون عندما يشاهدون هذا الإهتمام الضئيل بمشكلة المياه من قبل السياسيين العراقيين فإنهم بدورهم لا يعيروا هذا الأمر أي أهمية، وبعد دخول داعش أصبح هم الكثير من السياسيين الحصول على صفقات الأسلحة والعتاد الإيراني، ومع رخص السلاح الإيراني وجودته ولكن أصبح هنالك عرف الحصول على عمولات بمقدار ٤٠٪ من قيمة السلاح للكثير من الجهات السياسية المتصدية لهذا العمل، مثل تلك الجهات لا يمكن التعويل عليها ولا يرتجى منها أي خير خدمة لأبناء شعبها.
إن هذا ألأمر يتطلب الإطلاع عن كثب بتفاصيل مشكلة نقص المياه القادمة من أيران، وألإطلاع عن كثب عن معاناة الفلاحيين العراقيين، والتفاهم معهم عن الحد الأدنى للمياه التي يحتاجونها، ومن ثم التفاوض مع الإيرانيين بشكل جدي وتفصيلي بشأن هذه المشكلة وكيفية التعاون بين المؤسسات الإيرانية والعراقية في مجالات الري والزراعة، ومحاولة الحصول على الحد الأدنى من الماء وإستخدام أفضل الطرق للسقي وعدم هدر الماء، وإني مطمئن بل شبه متيقن أن ألجهات السياسية الإيرانية ستتعامل برحابة صدر وبإنفتاح في هذا المجال إن وجدت هذا الإهتمام من قبل السياسيين العراقيين، وهناك وسائل تقنية متعددة سنتناولها لاحقاً في المقالات القادمة، والجمهورية الإسلامية في أيران بدأت تستخدم الكثير من هذه التقنيات المتطورة، ولكننا في العراق لا زلنا نفتقر إليها؛ لا نريد من إيران إرجاع كامل مياه نهر كارون إلى العراق، ولكن نسبة معينة من المياه بحيث لا تؤثر سلباً على المزارعين والزراعة في أيران، وفي نفس الوقت تحيي الأراضي العراقية وتنهض مرة أخرى بالزراعة في تلك الأراضي التي أصبحت بوراً، وألأمر لا يقتصر عند هذا الحد بل يجب إقامة مشاريع أروائية سنتطرق إليها لاحقاً، فضلاً عن إستخدام التقنيات الحديثة في الري والتخلص من الأملاح سنتطرق إليها لاحقاً أيضاً. ونفس الشيء ينطبق بالنسبة للمزارع والبساتين في محافظة ديالى، بل كافة المحافظات والمناطق المتضررة من نقص المياه القادمة من إيران.
يتبع

Saturday, 16 January 2016

باخرة محملة بالقمح الكندي ترسو بميناء أم قصر بعد انتظارها في البحر لأكثر من شهر


2016-01-14 (صوت العراق) - البصرة
أفاد مصدر ملاحي في محافظة البصرة، الخميس، بأن باخرة أجنبية تحمل عشرات آلاف الأطنان من القمح الكندي المستورد لحساب وزارة التجارة رست في ميناء أم قصر التجاري بعد مضي أكثر من شهر على توقفها في منطقة بحرية بعيدة عن الموانئ بسبب تأخر ظهور نتائج الفحص المختبري لعينات من الشحنة.
وقال المصدر إن "الباخرة الأجنبية (بانزي) التي تحمل 50 ألف طن من القمح الكندي المستورد لصالح وزارة التجارة رست اليوم في ميناء أم قصر التجاري تمهيداً لتفريغ حمولتها"، مبيناً أن "الباخرة كانت متوقفة في منطقة الانتظار (منطقة بحرية بعيدة عن الموانئ) منذ (9 كانون الأول 2015)، ولم يكن يسمح لها بالرسو في الميناء بسبب تأخر ظهور نتائج الفحص المختبري لعينات من
الشحنة.
ولفت المصدر الذي طلب عدم الكشف عن اسمه الى أن باخرة ثانية تدعى (مياركوس) تحمل أيضاً 50 ألف طن من القمح المستورد لحساب الوزارة لم تزل متوقفة في منطقة الانتظار منذ (16 كانون الأول 2015)، وهي تنتظر ظهور نتائج فحص عينات من شحنتها حتى تتجه الى ميناء أم قصر التجاري لتفريغ
حمولتها.
يذكر أن البصرة تضم خمسة موانئ تجارية نشطة ترتادها عشرات البواخر الأجنبية شهرياً، هي موانئ المعقل وأبو فلوس وخور الزبير وأم قصر الشمالي والجنوبي، والأخير عادة ما تقصده البواخر التي تحمل شحنات من المواد الغذائية المستوردة من قبل وزارة
التجارة.
وقبل السماح لتلك البواخر بالرسو يجب عليها البقاء في منطقة الانتظار بعيداً عن الميناء لفترة تتراوح عادة من اسبوع الى اسبوعين يتم خلالها سحب عينات من الشحنة وإرسالها الى مختبرات الوزارة في بغداد لفحصها من أجل التحقق من صلاحيتها للاستهلاك البشري ومطابقتها للمواصفات التعاقدية، في حين يحق للبواخر المحملة ببضائع مستوردة لصالح القطاع الخاص التوجه مباشرة الى الموانئ، وأحياناً تتوقف في منطقة الانتظار بضعة أيام لحين توفر أرصفة شاغرة، بحسب
مراقبين.

Read more:
http://www.sotaliraq.com/newsitem.php?id=314812#ixzz3xKAHmmi6
تعليق موقعنا

استبشر العراقيون عربا واكراد في الموسم الماضي بخبر ان العراق انتج من القمح مايكفيه (اكتفاء ذاتي). ودفعت الحكومه العراقيه حوالي 700 دولار امريكي لكل طن من القمح يصل السايلوات العراقيه على اساس انها انتاج محلي . الاان بعد ستة اشهرمن التطبيل والتزمير للاكتفاء الذاتي الذي حققه العراق نرى ان البواخر الاجنبيه محمله بالقمح ترسو خارج الموانئ العراقيه بانتظار نتائج فحص عينات من الشحنات قبل تفريغها. علما بان هذه الفحوصات لاتاخذ من الوقت الى عدة ساعات . اذن لماذا هذا لانتظاروالتاخير المتعمد خارج ميناء ام قصر،السبب يكمن في حمولة البواخرحيث ان سعر طن القمح الموجود على الباخره لايزيد عن 200 دولار امريكي للطن الواحد.بينما الحكومة تدفع ثلاثة اضعاف ذالك المبلغ للذين يفرغون محتويات شاحناتهم القادمه من وراء الحدود في السايلوات بعد اجراء بعض الفحوصات على عينه من حمولة الشاحنه والتي تستغرق دقائق في  حين ان فحص حمولة الباخره تاخذ شهرا. ان مافيات القمح تهرب كميات هائله من القمح المستورد وعن طريق ايران وتركيا وحتى داعش وتبيعه للحكومه ونفس المافيات وزعانفها تعرقل وصول البواخر الى الموانئ. ان المافيات هذه تتحكم في رغيف الخبز للعراقيين.

Tuesday, 12 January 2016

Agriculture In Kurdistan







By; Talib Murad Ali
24.11.2014

Introduction
Historically, Sudan was described as the food basket of the  Arab Countries and Kurdistan also was described as the food basket of Iraq. However Sudan is now the biggest receiver of food aid from the WFP and 5.6 million people in the country are listed as receiving this UN agencys handouts.

For almost three decades I worked in Africa, mainly in North and East Africa I always attributed Sudans problems to the lethargy of the Sudanese and the mismanagement of the corrupted rulers in Khartoum. It is rather surprising that a border line, demarcated as a straight line by English surveyors many decades ago, separates not just the countries of Sudan and Egypt but it also separates the different attitudes of the two nations to work and production. Sudan was described as the food basket as it has every thing needed for agriculture, and is rich in water, fertile land and its environment. Sudan has some 120 million head of ruminants, almost half the number to be found in all the Arab Countries put together. Yet with all this wealth of livestock Sudan is  importing a large  quantity of dry milk to feed its population as the herds of native cattle(30 millions) are not good milk producers and  they are maintained away from the urban areas where the milk is needed . As a Regional Livestock Officer for FAO, with responsibility for the Water Buffalo Network for Southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, I believed that the water buffalo offered a solution to the milk deficit for the urban people in Sudan. North of the Sudanese border almost 3.5 million head of water buffalo provide meat, milk and ghee for Egypt yet in Sudan there are no water buffalo. I endeavoured for 8 years to introduce the water buffalo to the country, travelling between Cairo and Khartoum, meeting ministers who always seemed to agree with me, and yet when I obtained funding for a model buffalo farm to be developed in the country the government resolutely refused the project.
I believe that the future for agriculture in Sudan is very bleak and that the same can be said of other countries in our region. There are three reasons for this, firstly the mass movements of people brought
about by civil strife, secondly the discovery of oil in the region has never been used to support the development of the agricultural sector but rather that the reverse occurred. Thirdly Sudan is now on the slippery path of giving away its precious agricultural land to any foreigner who comes with a ready offer. The latter includes the tiny Gulf States, who now are supposed to develop Sudans agriculture, yet lack the knowledge to do so. The track record of the Gulf States does not stand up to scrutiny as these countries had a scarce and precious reserve of ground water that they have managed to fritter away.
The same Gulf States have already gained a foothold in farmlands in many countries including Turkey, into which they have poured some 11 Billion $ in the last few months, and this is expected to be doubled soon. While other countries in third world reject this form of neo-colonisation, the people of Turkey and Sudan have not shown any concern. This lack of concern may be attributed to the fact that both countries have plentiful water sources in their rivers which they view as sellable commodity with no consideration for countries down stream.
These farmland acquired by GCC in Turkey are not far way from the water sources of  the Tigris and Euphrates and the impact that  this will have on the water supply of Kurdistan and the whole of  Iraq remains to be seen.
At time of writing Tigris and Euphrates bring approx 14 billion cu.m. of water annually. While the 44 minor rivers and streams that flow form Iran ceased to flow while rainfall is no longer predictable. It is an accepted fact that every one million head of human population requires 1 billion cu. m. of water annually with an ever growing population Iraq and Kurdistan face major problem. It is essential that action is taken to safeguard the country water and ensure optimum use of both land and water for the countries agriculture.

Agriculture In Iraq
The 9 million Hectares of agriculture land in Iraq has fail to produce food for the Iraqis to a degree that most of the population are depending on the ration handout. Annually 4-5 Billion US $ spent by the Ministry of Trade to buy essential food ingredient e.g. Flour, Rice, Oil and sugar.
Agriculture currently provides about 8 percent of Iraq’s GDP and less than 20 percent of employment, and supports a rural population of 7 million people. The sector has declined since the 1980s and is underperforming. Over the last fifteen years, agricultural production dropped by an average of 1.1 percent per year, and per capita agricultural production declined by about 3.9 percent per year. Productivity of the main cereal crops—wheat, barley, and rice—has fallen dramatically. Most of the country’s  food requirement is imported.
Under the sanctions regime, a Public Food Distribution System (PFDS), which provided food rations to all Iraqis, attempted to support food security at the household level, but fell short of ensuring adequate nutrition to most of the population.
 The land of Mesopotamia has not come to this bleak situation overnight but this is the consequence of decade of negate in gross mismanagements intensified by  the sacrifice of its environmental and agricultural assets in pursuit of wars. The loss of the southern marshes with their water buffalos, reed beds, fish, waterfowl, and wild life is considered to be one of the biggest environmental catastrophes in the world. The huge fruit orchards in the east of the country which were renowned for their production of pomegranates, figs and citrus fruits suffered water shortages resulting from bad diplomacy with Iran over half a century e.g. as in Mandeli and its surrounding area. During the war with Iran many of the orchard keepers left the area or were deported to Iran and any of the orchards were clear felled. Lands in central Iraq and the southwest suffered from increasing salinity resulting from irrigation and mismanagement which was never addressed and land was left fallow. However this it self was disastrous as the poor drainage resulted in further salination. In the  north, previously the food basket the situation was graver with over 5,000 villages demolished, their water sources destroyed and the population killed, displaced or forced to live in camps. The two Gulf wars had a further severe effect as the soldiers that were conscripted to fight came from the rural communities, being farmers, shepherds, butchers and fishermen and many failed to return to village life after the wars but remained in the towns the village life had been destroyed.
 Since the establishment of the government of modern Iraq, some 80 years ago, there has never been any attempt made to form a recognised, legal, water treaty between Iraq, Turkey, Syria and Iran. However, Egypt formed such a treaty in 1929 receiving exclusive rights to the waters of the Nile in the Nile Water Treaty that was signed by Lloyd George on behalf of the other 9 countries through which the river flows. One may argue that the situation was different in each case and that a gentlemans agreement and a goodwill announcement is sufficient but this cannot ensure Iraqs future when its neighbours can increase their demands on a shared water source to which Iraq has no legal right.

A few months ago the Head of Nestle International said that water will dry up before the oil reserves do (Independent, 9.8.2009). If one considers the countries of the Middle East the oil rich Gulf States do not have water so the obvious inference is to Iraq.

World Wide Chalange  
Major new global trend: land (and water) grabbing is part of a deep and aggressive restructuring of agriculture
·       Wrong answer to food crisis: with land grabbing, small farmers
are now “the problem” and large foreign-owned farms “the          solution”
·       Bringing massive new implantation of large scale agribusiness
           operations for export, run by “Southern” landlords or financial
           capitalists
·       With land, way too much is at stake
·       In total contradiction with food security, not to mention food
sovereignty
·       "We need a people's politics and a people's voice to stop
landgrabbing" said social movements at the CSO Forum on                     Food Sovereignty in Rome, November 2009
·       Food crisis → “Farming abroad” now seen as new food supply strategy by import-dependent governments
·       Financial crisis → Farmland now seen as new source of profits by the finance industry
·       Focus: Staple foods, not mangoes or coffee
·       More than 50 countries targeted by maybe 1,000 investment groups and a dozen or so governments.
·       World Bank says 50m ha – nearly half the cropland of China – signed away or under negotiation in Africa, Asia, LatAm since 2006. FAO says 20m ha in Africa alone. GRAIN think they're missing a lot.
·       GRAIN (US NGO) estimates that US$100 billion have already been mobilised to pay for these deals. (World Bank says US$50 billion.)
·       Wider context: Major push right now to expand and restructure global agribusiness in the South, with a strong influx of Southern capital (UNCTAD: 40% of cross-border investment in ag production in 2008 was South-South.)
·       Reuters (11.11. 2009) repotted; Iraq is closed to concluding multi-billion dollar agriculture deal with private sector firm in the UAE to lease farmland on a long term basis. This agreement will classify Iraq as one of the 50 poorer countries targeted by land grabbers from the GCC.
·       Iraq also is listed as one of the Low-Income Food Deficit Countries (LIFDC). The list contain 77 Countries(FAO, May,2009)

International Support for Agriculture
For most of the past 25 years, investment in agriculture has declined relentlessly. In 2005 most developing countries were investing only around 5% of public revenue in farming. The share of western aid going to agriculture fell by around three-quarters between 1980 and 2006(Economist 21.11.2009).

Agriculture and food security have become “the core of the international agenda”, as the G8 called it. In 2009, the World Bank increased its spending on agriculture by 50%, to $6 billion. The Islamic Development Bank is creating an agriculture department for the first time.

Sunday, 10 January 2016

Iraqis ban poultry imports from 24 states
Rueter-Baghdad-10.1.2016

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/iraqis-ban-poultry-imports-from-24-states.aspx?pageID=238&nID=93663&NewsCatID=345

العراق يمنع استيراد الدواجن ومنتجاتها من 24 دوله لاتصدر هذه المواد للعراق
وزارة ازراعه العراقيه منعت استيراد الدواجن ومنتجاتها من 24دوله (القا ئمه ادناه)وذالك بسبب مرض انفلونزا الطيور.علما بان العراق يستود حوالي 75% من استهلاكه من تركيا وايران والبرازيل. علما بان المنتجات البرازيليه الحاصله على ختم المرجعيات الدينيه تدخل العراق عالعراق لوقف الاستيراد من دول الجواروخاصتا من بورن طريق دول الجوار واما ال24 دوله التي منع الاستيراد منها فهي اصلا لاتصدر اي شي يذكر الى اذا كان بركانا فاسو يصدر دواجن للعراق دون علم احد ومن يجرى على وقف استيراد اي شي من دول الجوار

Iraq has extended a ban on imports of frozen and live poultry products to cover two dozen countries, including China and South Africa, the government said on Jan. 10.
Baghdad last month restricted poultry imports from France, where an outbreak of avian flu has been reported. 
“The import of poultry and birds of all kinds ... as well as both types of eggs (table and hatching), feathers and all products that use poultry or their products ... is prohibited,” a government statement said. 
The agriculture ministry could not be contacted for immediate comment, but a ministry spokesman previously said that the ban on French poultry was because of avian flu. 
The affected exporters are Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Bhutan, China, Egypt, Ghana, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Ivory Coast, Kazakhstan, Laos, Libya, Myanmar, Mexico, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, Palestine, South Africa, South Korea and Vietnam. 

Highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu first infected humans in 1997 during a poultry outbreak in Hong Kong. Since its re-emergence in 2003 and 2004, H5N1 has spread from Asia to Europe and Africa, causing millions of poultry infections, several hundred human cases and many human deaths.

Saturday, 9 January 2016

How to Keep Kurdistan Safe (2)



Jamal Fuad, Ph.D,
Retiree, FAO and the World Bank, International Consultant

Last year, on 15 January,2015, I published an article in the English edition of the Rudaw, under the same title as this, “How to Keep Kurdistan Safe”, which was read by over 5,000 people[1].The main point I had emphasized then was that we must not depend solely on oil for our budgetary needs, and therefore we must find other financial venues to supplement the oil revenue. As oil prices have been on the decline, it is essential that we think again and try to develop other sources of income to bolster our budget.

Firstly, we must cut down on the imports of items we can do without. We also need to raise tariffs on imports of items that we can produce locally. The current unhindered importation of just about everything has weakened our financial status and has drained the national budget which has become unsustainable.

Our finances have also been very much burdened by an unexpected war on our doorstep, decreased oil revenues, and the lack of other enterprises by which we can supplement our budgetary needs. I find it appropriate to expand on the ideas I had introduced earlier and then point out some luxuries that we could do without.

It is unfortunate that after 10 years of our self-rule the supply of electricity remains insufficient. Water, health services, and education facilities are still inadequate, in spite of a fair supply of funds from the oil sector of over $100 billion over the past 10 years. The problem has escalated to a degree that KRG (The Kurdish Regional Government) has not even been able to pay regular government salaries to its civil service staff. We have never faced this last situation at any other time in the history of the KRG, including the difficult years when the Region was under sanctions from Baghdad in the 1990’s.

Civil servants depend solely on their monthly salaries to pay for their daily cost of living. The merchants likewise eagerly await the end of the month to accommodate the needs of the civil servants. Therefore, non- payment of salaries, not only paralyses the civil servants but also jeopardizes the whole market environment.
The Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) has also been unable to pay the hundreds of contractors who were engaged to work on public projects. Many of
these have now been declared bankrupt and ceased working, resulting in large numbers of unfinished rehabilitation projects and a further increase in the rate of unemployment. In addition, as a result of unwise financing, excessive cash flow out of the country, in addition to corruption and excessive money laundering our banks have been left without sufficient monies. Such banks have not been able to honor checks from their customers or even repay them the money owed to them.

We may ask just where have we gone wrong, and why have we failed in providing our citizens with the amenities they deserve?

Such queries are common among our people, and I do not wish to repeat them here. However, I will try to take a positive stand and direct my efforts to finding solutions rather than dwelling on the mistakes of the past. I shall try to point out specific excesses that can be altogether eliminated. I am confident that, with some courage and determination, KRG can find ways of getting out of the current budgetary crunch. So let us first discuss where can we save money, and then what can we do to find sources of funds whereby the budget can be supplemented.

1.      A sizeable amount of funds can be saved through the substitution of foreign imports of food items with those produced locally, or alternatively imposing required  tariffs to eliminate competition. We have the land, the water, and the climate to grow just about every food item we are importing. We can also raise sufficient poultry and livestock that we require. What we really need is a sound agricultural policy that sends farmers back to their lands[2]. Special incentives, such as the provision of improved seeds, tools and farm equipment, fertilizers and biological control chemicals plus improving marketing facilities will give farmers the confidence they need return to their farms. Implementation of a sound agricultural policy,  restriction of imports, and provision of technical and financial support, will facilitate the rejuvenation of our agricultural sector and produce the agricultural products we need.

2.      Support of a farmers' union is essential to strengthen their bargaining power in the purchases of agricultural inputs and finding marketing opportunities for their products.

3.      With the revival of the agricultural sector, agro-industries must be supported to produce the cooking oil we need, the pasta, the tomato paste, fruit juices in addition to canned vegetables and fruits.

4.      Revival of the agriculture sector would also decrease the current high rate of unemployment and it would discourage our young graduates from seeking employment abroad.

5.      Due to the political circumstances, large numbers of our farmers have  been away from their farms for many years, some are now too old to return to their profession, while their children never had an opportunity to engage in any farming operation. Under the reign of Saddam, farmers were forced out of their profession and were forced to live in collective camps, while others vanished in the Anfal campaign. Anfal: In 1988, the former Baathist Authority, depending on a chapter in the Koran(The Anfal), uprooted 182,000 village population and sent them to their death in the South of the country. Therefore their surviving children need a strong extension system to re-educate them on farming practices. Setting up adult education centers to teach farming practices to the emerging young farmers is a step in the right direction.

6.      To encourage farmers to utilize their lands, I recommend that a
land tax be laid on any agricultural land left uncultivated or unused.
Farmers who do not cultivate their land, may also relinquish such lands to others who can utilize it for agricultural purposes, or to lease such land to agricultural companies for crop or animal production

With respect to other measures, I would like to add the following points for consideration by the authorities:

1. The region's banks have lost public confidence, which is an unhealthy economic sign. It is important that the KRG takes immediate action to improve public confidence by enacting bylaws to guarantee that monies deposited in the banks are protected.  It is vital that all business operations are carried out through the banks and that financial transactions go through them as well. Funds deposited at the banks can be an important source of funding which can be borrowed for project implementation. Furthermore banks must stop dispensing excessive loans without sufficient collateral and thereby put their liquidity of funds in jeopardy.

2.          Transfer all excess security staff to the Ministry of Interior. Such staff could be reassigned to work at public facilities, become part of ongoing projects, municipalities, parks, airports, etc. Such a program will gainfully employ the thousands of security staff, who currently are idle and attend their work places only 50% of the time and spend the rest in meeting their personal needs by driving taxis, or working as laborers to gain extra cash during their leisure time.
3.          The recruitment of a thousand of so called ”guards” or un-necessary security staff has decreased the amount of available local labor that can be employed in necessary local rehabilitation works.
4.          Similarly the contingent of staff assigned under the name of “consultants” needs to be abolished. Only highly specialized staff with proven records must be employed for consultation duties.
5.          The government should declare it a rule that except for the sick, old, and the disabled, no one should be paid unless he or she is actively performing a duty. Salaried staff must attend their designated place of work each day for the hours required by law. “Shadow” workers must be completely eliminated.
6.           Our streets and highways have been overcrowded with thousands of imported vehicles. A higher tariff on personal autos and luxury cars can substantially lower imports. I suggest that importation of all personal and luxury cars be stopped for at least one year to minimize foreign expenses

It is important that the government initiates an annual taxation system of its citizens whose income passes a certain threshold. Monies received from such taxation can be used for financing certain city or village activities such as supporting fire departments, school activities, parks, building community halls, or to cover certain training needs of the citizens.

Oil money must specifically be used to increase our industrial and agricultural capabilities and to open vital venues for decreasing imports of industrial and agricultural items.

We can produce just about every food and feed items we need: Cereals (i.e. wheat, barley, and maize),potatoes, onion, legumes (i.e. chick peas, lentils, fava beans, etc.), in addition to sugar beets and oil crops of sunflower, and soybean. There is much room for expanding our dairy and poultry farms. Vast range areas are available to satisfy our livestock, sheep, goats, and cattle.

We may face some difficulties at the start, but eventually, once the local producers, the farmers find out that their products can be sold in the market, they will increase their efforts and improve production methodology to provide for market requirements in a short time. We need not import carrots from Australia, or lettuce from Iran, or other out of season fruits and vegetables from our neighbours. We do not need to import poultry and beef from South America. These items, with a minimum help from the government, can easily be locally produced.

Here I must emphasize the need for preserving agricultural land. We need every square metre of agricultural land and must be very careful to cease utilising this our most precious wealth for housing projects that can be put on any non-agricultural lands, such as rocky or barren lands of which we have plenty. We have already lost a great deal of our prime agricultural land in Kurdistan, and we cannot afford to lose anymore.

To generate animal feed, it is essential that we set up feed production centers and to do so we must support the production of maize and soybean, which are the two main ingredients of animal and poultry feed.

A Note on Current Wheat Subsidy:

The Federal Government of Iraq has been running a project of wheat subsidy for a number of years, with the idea that this policy ensures the increased production of wheat essential for food security. Under its scheme the government buys the local wheat at a price three times higher than on the world market. The world price is in the range of US$250 to US$300/ton, while Baghdad has set the purchasing price at about US$700/ton.

This policy not only has opened wide a door for corruption, but it has negatively affected production of other vital cash crops, such as maize and soybeans which are also important ingredients for livestock and poultry feeds. This policy is not only economically unsound, prone to corruption, but has also affected the local production of other essential crops.

It is strongly suggested that the Federal Government cancels this project and insure wheat is bought at the international price, minus the cost of transportation. Rumors indicate that certain individuals bring wheat from neighboring countries, bought at the international price of $250 per ton, and then receive $700 per ton from the hoodwinked authorities.