Lack of pasture for animals forces farmers to feed sheep with chicken manure

SEMEL, Kurdistan Region - Unlike previous years, when farmers used to graze their sheep in the lush green pastures of Duhok province's mountainous region, severe drought has this year pushed them to the limit, forcing them to resort to feeding their animals with composted chicken manure in order to prevent them from starving to death, in a move that has raised serious concerns among locals.

"We are forced to feed our animals with this waste. If we do not do that, we will lose all of them," Dilshad Abdu, a sheep owner in Semel told Rudaw on Tuesday, adding they understand it is not healthy to feed their animals with chicken waste.

"By God, we know it is bad, yet we buy one lorry of [chicken waste] for 2,000,000 dinars [around $1,350]. What should we do if we do not feed them anything? The sheep roam this entire region, there is not one single grass, because there was no spring this season nor was there any rainfall. Rainfall delayed," Abdu added.

Severe drought has heaped a dreadful misery on agriculture in Duhok province's Semel district as the Region experiences a lower rate of rainfall this year, leading to farmers losing 80 percent of their crops in the region.

At 176mm, Duhok has seen record low rainfall over the past half a century, according to data from the Duhok Meteorological Directorate. Geologists have warned that farmers have borne the brunt of the natural crisis over the past two years.

"... In this region where we live, from Semel all the way to the Syrian border, 90 percent of the lands are as desertified as here... By God [the animals] will starve to death. They will starve to death," Haji Mahe, another sheep owner lamented.

A chicken farmer cautioned that the chicken waste is in high demand recently as livestock owners are desperate to feed their animals to prevent them from starving to death, leading to the increase of chicken manure by two-fold.

"We sell one lorry of chicken manure for 2,000,000 dinars because of high demand from sheep owners," Habib Haider, the owner of a chicken farm in Duhok said. " The more the chickens are fed with fodder, the higher the price of the manure. If chickens in a poultry house are fed with 100 tons of fodder, the price of one lorry of chicken manure may go further higher."

Local authorities in Duhok are worried about the increase in demand for chicken manure by livestock owners, warning that it may severely affect the milk and meat products of the animals.

"From a scientific point of view, this is not a good thing, because they will have grave consequences on milk, meat products and the health of the animals, too. These kinds of waste should be taken to a lab to undergo scientific examinations before they are used as fodder for animals," Dr. Idris Ahmed, head of the Duhok Veterinary Directorate explained.

Officials have warned that the Kurdistan Region is in the midst of a dry-year crisis due to a lack of rain, government funds, and issues of water mismanagement both internally and across the region, such as dams in neighboring Turkey and Iran.

Another local official believes the Kurdish government to step up efforts and support farmers amid this crisis.

"We have... called on the agriculture ministry to provide at least 5,000 tons of fodder for our livestock and sheep to support their owners," Dedir Sidqi, in charge of Duhok province's livestock products directorate said.

Iraq is the fifth-most vulnerable nation in the world to the effects of climate change, including water and food insecurity. Last week, a senior adviser at the Iraqi water resources ministry warned that the country's water reserves have decreased by half since last year, due to a combination of drought, lack of rainfall, and declining river levels.