The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) released a study investigating obstacles to displaced farmers in Iraq returning to their work after conflict forced them to leave their homes. “Are Iraqi Displaced Farmers Returning to Agriculture?” relies on data collected in 2020 from 774 households who were farming before 2014 but were subsequently displaced due to the conflict. It found that only around one in four agricultural households had returned to their areas of origin by 2020. Many Iraqi farmers have been unable to return to work, due to a series of security problems and loss of assets but also due to a series of obstacles related to local agri-food markets and access to credit.

The study aims to adequately inform decision-makers on critical areas of policy and investment support, also identifying durable solutions for the displaced farming families, says Ahmad Sadiddin of FAO's Agri-Food Economics Division, of FAO’s Agrifood Economics Division lead author of the study. Restoring security and rebuilding agricultural resources and infrastructure are therefore urgent requirements for farmers, otherwise the ongoing repatriations risk being unsustainable.

The joint FAO-IOM study focused on seven governorates - Anbar, Babel, Baghdad, Diyala, Kirkuk, Ninevah and Salaheddin – which cover almost two-thirds of the country’s total cropped areas and a higher share of its wheat production. The survey shows that Iraqi peasant families have lost an average of 83% of their agricultural assets. However, the report found that, with credit accessible and available, and as skills develop, businesses could resume at full speed.

Currently, nonfarm informal jobs, business and public employment are covering more than 80 percent of the income of rural returnee households, and the share that depends on agriculture has plummeted. Meanwhile, unemployment in Iraq’s urban areas has risen to above that in rural areas, highlighting broader benefits of restoring rural livelihoods.

“Investing in agriculture can create more stable sources of income and offer rural opportunities to remain in their rural areas rather than migrating to the cities”, the report said.