Cultivating Cronyism: The Collapse of Agriculture in Post-War Iraq and Syria

Jun 24, 2021 | Chloé Bernadaux
View Original

Historically, Iraq enjoyed some of the world’s most productive soils. Agriculture represented more than 18 percent of the country’s economic output in 1995, but over the last 30 years its key role in the economy fell victim to Iraq’s decades-long conflicts. By 2019, agriculture accounted for only 2 percent of economic output.

Meanwhile, in neighboring Syria, the agriculture sector has sustained itself through nine years of civil conflict amid a deepening economic crisis and widespread popular discontent but now is at risk. Though the sector still accounts for 26 percent of the country’s economy, today food insecurity represents a pervasive threat for 60 percent of the country’s population or 12.4 million Syrians. Ongoing state land confiscations displace farmers throughout the country, cementing the seeds of deeper instability in rural areas as well as uncertainty about the future of agrarian development.  Outcomes for Iraq’s agriculture sector after years of armed conflict show the likely trajectory of the sector in Syria. An examination of the dynamics of post-war agriculture in Iraq indicates strong similarities with Syria's fledgling reconstruction process.