01-06-2025
FAO Director-General launches $39M climate resilience project during Iraq visit
Baghdad ( – Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Director-General Qu Dongyu participated in the Baghdad launch of a $39 million project to boost climate change adaptation in southern Iraq during his recent three-day official visit to the country, which also included the Kurdistan Region.
The Green Climate Fund project, 'Enhancing Resilience of Vulnerable Agrarian Livelihoods,' co-financed by Canada and Sweden's Sida, will directly support rural families in Karbala, Najaf, and Muthanna facing drought and land degradation. Qu Dongyu stated it is evidence of Iraq's commitment to providing sustainable solutions.
During his visit, the FAO DG also met women farmers in Karbala and inaugurated a dairy center for women's groups, calling it vital for local value chains and women's empowerment. In the Kurdistan Region, he met with President Nechirvan Barzani and other senior officials to discuss climate-resilient agriculture and sustainable water management, later visiting farms in the Erbil basin and a WaPOR program demonstration site.
