Report/ Hassan Hamza
The IRCS has taken proactive measures to deal with climate change and support sustainable agriculture in collaboration with its partners in the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, one of these measures are implementing a climate-smart agriculture in collaboration with the Swedish Red Cross to cultivate sudanese grass (fodder) in the governorates of Dhi qar, Diwaniyah, and Babylon.

The Director of the water and rehabilitation department at the IRCS, Nawar Abdul Qader, said: “This project is one of the most important projects to support livelihoods for the farmers, as it aims to help farmers settle on the land after drought swept through many governorates and regions in Iraq.”

“The importance of growing fodder corn comes from the fact that it requires a minimum of irrigation water and tolerates soil salinity, as it provides summer fodder with high nutritional value, as fodder corn is rich with thermal energy and beneficial to all types of livestock.” Nawar added.

Nawar has explained that the project was implemented in several stages, including plowing the soil in two opposite directions and leveling it to ensure good cultivation of the new crop, and establishing water ponds (basins) in order to create a water reservoir for irrigation through well water, also installing an irrigation network that works with sprinklers, in addition to provide farmers with fodder corn (sudanese grass) recommended by the World Agriculture Organization, and providing different types of fertilizers for farmers.

“The area covered by the project in the three governorates reaches (51) dunums that will be planted with sudanese grass, at a rate of (2) dunums for each farmer, and the IRCS specialized teams will continue to follow up with the farmers to ensure the project is maintained for a longer period, through the field visits to the work sites where the lands are cultivated.” Nawar explained.