The Iraqi government announced that the country’s strategic grain production, including wheat, barley and maize has reached 20 million tons over the last three years. The Iraqi Cabinet’s spokesperson Saad al-Hadithi said in a statement on government support for the agricultural sector, of which Arabs Today obtained a copy, that the government has adopted a comprehensive economic program based on rational economic vision aimed at restructuring major sectors in the Iraqi economy.
He added: “The government adopted proper mechanisms for the restructuring of the national economy and putting it on the right track, and these mechanisms aim at the revival of major sectors in the economy, mainly the agricultural sector. It represents a great importance in the government’s plans since it would lead to achieving national food security and self-sufficiency of basic agricultural crops."
Al-Hadithi pointed out that "the government has prepared ambitious plans to boost the planting of strategic crops and support farmers and peasants to invest in this field, in the framework of the partnership program with the private sector and investment authority."
He said that this economic program has come under the government’s focus on reform of the state expenses and revenues structure and the optimal use of available financial resources, directing them towards the important sectors of the Iraqi economy. It also aims to support national product and limit foreign products in Iraqi market. He explained that this government trend to diversify sources of income is a strategic path adopted by the Iraqi government, out of its belief that sustainable economic growth which strengthen national sources of wealth is based on the support of the agricultural sector. This support will be a fundamental incentive to increase the crops yields on one hand, and develop the private sector on the other hand, which leads to better job opportunities.
Al-Hadithi continued that in the context of the state tendency to increase agricultural and livestock production as well as increasing the agricultural sector’s share of GDP, the government has prepared the a purchase price list of strategic agricultural crops to ensure competition with imported products and protection the local production.