Introduction
The final report from CSO Iraq refers to a total wheat production in Iraq of 5.1 million tonnes in 2014 - 3.8 million in irrigated areas and 1.3 million in rainfed areas. This is much more than the 3.5 million tonnes that was forecasted and almost twice the five-year average of 2.6 million tonnes. Government reports indicated that the Iraqi Grain Board managed to buy some 3.4 million tonnes of wheat from farmers by summer 2014.
The CSO report mentions a total barley production in Iraq of 1.28 million tonnes. This is also more than its forecast of 900,000 tonnes, and 60 percent more than its five year average of 782,000 tonnes in 2014.
The good availability of wheat and barley does not guarantee access for all, as physical restrictions on markets and /or government warehouses existed as a consequence of the crisis. Internal food distribution from surplus to deficit areas have been affected by the crisis. Despite these conflict-related challenges to production, storage and other logistical arrangements, the level of actual wheat imports should be considerably lower than originally estimated 3.2 million tonnes for 2014.
It should be noted that ISIL took over control over several areas in Northern Iraq in the summer 2014, this included Mosul, an important trade center.
Methodology
Wheat and barley products are estimated by applying multi-random stratified sample which depends on the real measurement of cultivated areas and conducting the appropriate number of harvest experiments in the fields of covered farmers.
All agricultural holders of field crops (main and secondary) are registered in the crop frame for the season and cultivated areas (productive, damaged and green fodder). They are classified in the tables of sample size calculation by the crop, sector, irrigation method and text of the productive frame. Field visits are conducted to randomly selected locations in January and February.
Product indicators are estimated on Qaddaa (district), Governorate and Iraq level but they are published in this report on governorate and Iraq level only.