Iraq

Potato cultivation in Iraq is predominantly concentrated in the northern uplands around Mosul and the central Tigris-Euphrates valley near Baghdad, with limited production in the lower valley areas due to saline soil conditions. The agro-climatic conditions of these regions, characterized by winter temperatures nearing 0°C and summer highs surpassing 40°C, along with annual rainfall of approximately 390 mm in Mosul and 140 mm in Baghdad, mostly occurring between November and May, enable the successful cultivation of two potato crops per year.

The spring crop is typically planted from January to February and harvested after about four months, while the fall crop is sown between late July and early September, with harvests occasionally impacted by early frosts. Both government-supported and private farms contribute to production, utilizing varying levels of mechanization—from fully mechanized systems to semi-automated and manual planting methods.

Standard agronomic practices include planting seed tubers at 20–30 cm spacing along ridges spaced 80–85 cm apart, with seed rates ranging from 2.0–2.5 tons per hectare. Irrigation is crucial, particularly in the central plains, and is often accompanied by the application of fertilizers such as superphosphate and ammonium sulphate. Spring yields typically range between 12–20 tons per hectare, while fall yields average 8–10 tons per hectare, with some farms achieving yields exceeding 30 tons per hectare.

Iraq cultivates several high-yielding and widely adapted potato varieties, including Riviera, Almonda, Nicola, Agria, JIP 1600-1, Dimont, Arezona, Naema, Sevara, Porin, and Alpada.

Potato cultivation in Iraq was minimal before the 1960s, with less than 100 hectares under production. By 1968, this area had increased to around 300 hectares, though FAO data from the same period suggested an annual output of approximately 10,000 tons, indicating unusually high productivity for such limited land. Hussain (1976), however, reported a much lower estimate of 300 tons for 1968, followed by a sharp rise to 35,000 tons by 1974. That same year, the cultivated area expanded significantly to 4,250 hectares.

By 1978, Iraq’s potato production stabilized at around 100,000 tons annually. Although no official FAO data were available as of May 2006, later records in October 2015 reflected a decade of fluctuating but generally increasing output. In 2013, Iraq produced about 580,000 metric tons of potatoes on 42,000 hectares, achieving an average yield of roughly 14 tons per hectare. This growth highlights the steady development of potato farming in Iraq, transitioning from small-scale cultivation to a more commercially viable agricultural sector.