The impact of sand and dust storms on agriculture in Iraq

Hayatullah Ahmadzai

Middle East Development Journal, 2023, vol. 15, issue 1, 50-65

Abstract: Sand and dust storms are a common natural hazard in arid and dry areas of the Middle East and North Africa severely affecting human life and economic sectors, including agriculture production. In this paper, I explore the potential impact of sand and dust storms (SDS) on agricultural sub-sectors in Iraq by combining the household-level production and socioeconomic data with the climate dataset to allow the empirical assessment of agricultural impacts due to dust storms. I find compelling evidence that exposure of crops and livestock to dust storms significantly diminish agricultural productivity, vegetation cover and have significant bearings on the household welfare. Our analysis reveals a 1.1% reduction in the value of crop production as a result of an additional SDS event. This corresponds to about 0.045% losses in the GDP of Iraq, an amount equivalent to about $0.1 billion. Crop yields are reduced significantly ranging from 0.9% to 3% for an additional day of sand and dust storms.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1080/17938120.2023.2166748

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