Livestock, poultry and fish

The animal population in Iraq has declined steeply since 1990 (Table 9) under the post-embargo conditions. Between 1990 and 1995, the number of cows declined by 34 per cent, the number of buffaloes by 46 per cent, the number of sheep by 42 per cent, and the number of goats by 81 per cent.

Traditionally, Iraqi people have depended heavily on meat and other livestock based products in their regular diet. The embargo has reduced the availability of red meat, poultry meat, milk, eggs and fish to very low levels, as shown in Table 10. Critical shortage of animal products have caused their prices to increase steeply and beyond the purchasing capacity of the majority of the Iraqi people. Most Iraqis are unable to eat meat or poultry meat even once a week.

The main factors limiting livestock and poultry production are critical shortages of feed, veterinary services and drugs, and machinery and equipment and their spare parts. Moreover, a further constraint is gaining in importance and that is the diversion of pastures into grain production. The production of milk and milk products have virtually collapsed due to poor health of milking cows and lack of equipment.

Before the Gulf war (1990), 2.5 million tons of feed stuffs (corn, protein concentrates, soybeans, wheat bran and barley) were available, but now none can be imported or spared from the local harvest under the existing food shortages. Livestock farmers have, however, been advised to try to save the animals using whatever other alternative feed they can find. The central meat supply system has collapsed. The animals are now slaughtered on road sides openly and indiscriminately, creating health hazards. Reportedly cattle are being smuggled out to neighbouring countries because of the weak Iraqi dinar and the attractive profits that can be made from smuggling.

In poultry production, there were 8,353 small and 25 big chicken pro-jects during the pre-Gulf war period, which provided estimated 1,688 million eggs, 106 million hatching eggs, and 250,000 tons of chicken meat. However, many of these projects are now just empty compounds with some remains of equipment and machinery scattered around.

Fish production has also been seriously affected. The only central facility for rearing and supplying fish fingerlings to fish farmers and to rivers, ponds, lakes and dams to renew and maintain the fish population in the country is now functioning only at half its capacity. The seasonal capacity of this fish hatchery was 50 million but the deterioration of its machinery, equipment including laboratory chemicals and feed and hormone supplies, its performance has drastically declined.

Next: Food Supply Position and Access of Population to Food

FAO REPORT TABLE OF CONTENTS

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