This document summarizes Iraq's strategy for innovative rice irrigation and water management. It outlines that Iraq faces challenges of aridity and declining water resources, with traditional rice farming using unsustainable amounts of water. The Agricultural Research Office has adopted the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) practiced in over 50 countries, which uses young seedlings, wide spacing, and intermittent irrigation to increase yields while using less water. Trials over 9 years show SRI increasing average yields by 20% using 30-50% less water compared to conventional methods. The document recommends further studies on nutrient and water management and adapting rice varieties to optimize SRI practices in Iraq.

1. 0
Iraq’s Integrated Drought Risk Management Framework
The Validation Workshop, Amman, Jordan March 2nd to 5th
Khidhir Abbas Hameed
Ministry of Agriculture
Agricultural Research Office
Iraq’s Strategy for Innovative
Rice Irrigation and Water
Management in Iraq

2. 1
Overview
• Climate: excessive aridity, fluctuating rainfall (100 – 200 mm
in central and south areas, up to 1000 mm in northern area)
Precipitation: 155 billion m³per year, only 10% can be used
for irrigation
• Surface Water: The E-Tigris water in 1990 was app. 78-80 BCM,
recently has declined to half this amount
• Ground Water: 2.4 BCM used for irrigation
The aridity of the climate makes irrigation or special dry farming
techniques absolutely necessary
Less water results usually in declining productivity of rice
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3. 2
Iraq’s Challenge
Current farmers’ practice:
Standing water on the soil surface to a depth of 5–20 cm
throughout the rice cycle
• Large quantities of water are required, especially traditional
rice irrigation needs as much as 100,000 m¯³ ha¯¹/season
• The average rice-growing area is 125,000 ha¯¹, producing
392,950 tons of paddy with average yield 3.16 tons ha¯¹
• The traditional approach has exhausted the rice land, so
yield is not reaching more than 3 ton / ha
New strategy is needed to maintain high productivity of rice
with less water (increasing water use efficiency, WUE)
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4. 3
Research Objectives
Agricultural Research Office has adapted internationally best-
practice approach called the System of Rice Intensification
(SRI), developed in Madagascar and applied already in >50
other countries
Objectives:
• Increase rice yield production and improve soil conditions
• Support farmers to gain better understanding of agronomic
principles through effective and efficient management
approach helping them increase their net incomes
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5. 4
SRI Practices
• Transplant young seedlings (>15 d)
• Give the plants wide spacing
• Keep the soil well-aerated with
sufficiently moisture, no flooding
• Use interval (intermittent) irrigation
during vegetative growth phase
• Use weeding practices that aerate
the soil (by using rotary hoe)
• Provide nutrients, preferably organic,
to feed the soil as well as the plants
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Prof. Norman Uphoff , Director of
the Cornell International Institute
for Food, Agriculture and
Development, Ithaca, NY, USA ,
with Dr. Khidhir A. Hameed

6. 5
SRI Performance: Past Nine Years in Iraq
2005: Started with two of the SRI practices (wide spacing and
young seedlings) with ¼ ha and just one farmer. Average yield
was increased by 18%.
2006: Carried out of one SRI trial using organic matter at
MRRS . Expanded the use of wide spacing and young seedlings
(on 2 ha with 8 farmers )
2007: Carried out four SRI trials, two SRI comparison fields,
and 14 SRI demonstration fields, using clover crop as a green
manure for improve of the soil fertility (11 ha with 16 farmers)

7. 6
SRI Performance: Past Nine Years in Iraq
2009-2013: Implemented SRI method on a large-scale in
three provinces. The harvested yield has increased by 20% on
average compared with conventional methods (dry and wet
sowing) with the same variety of Jasmine rice.
The benefits obtained with SRI practice: feeding the soil to
improve its fertility, reduction in the requirements for
irrigation water, and increased net income for farmers.
The highest average harvested yield reached 7.2 tons/ha, and
lowest was 6.4 tons/ha - not yet using full set of SRI practices.

8. 7
Water Consumption for Different Rice Cultivation
Methods
Water consumption
(m³/ha)
Irrigation daysCultivation method
94,806132Direct seeding
(Wet method)
85,887123Direct seeding
(Dry method)
75,275132Manual transplanting
42,97176Short growth duration
varieties
21,60095SRI METHOD
20,500132Sprinkle irrigation

9. 8
Comparison of SRI Methods vs. Conventional Methods
Different / more productive phenotypes from same genotype

10. 9
The Way Forward
• Studies on nutrient management with special reference to
benefits and costs of using organic sources of nutrients
• Precise quantification of savings in water
• Studies on microbial activity and detailed work on root system.
• Identification of locations which are most suitable for SRI with
socio-economic analysis of SRI effects
• Application of eco-friendly methods to save the environment
• Improve local rice varieties adaptable to drought and salinity,
tolerance of water stress, and high yield with good quality
• Develop a strategy to use sustainable saline water for irrigation
and reclamation
• Implementing of SRI system into large-scale areas

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