Baghdad -

 100 years ago, Iraq was called "the land of blackness" due to the greenery of its large land resulting from the cultivation of many crops, fruits, vegetables, grains, and others. Today, the country suffers from a significant decline in agricultural areas.

Although the country suffers from drought, the green carpet has returned once again to cover some areas, especially in the south, where jojoba cultivation has begun to flourish in many areas, so what is this plant?

And what is its use?

How does the government invest it?

The length of the jojoba tree varies according to the type of soil and the irrigation method, and ranges from 1-4 meters (communication sites)

Agriculture in numbers

During the seventies and eighties of the last century, Iraq adopted development programs and policies for the agricultural sector, but they did not fully achieve their goals as a result of the abnormal conditions the country went through, from several wars and then an international blockade that extended between 1991 and 2003, which negatively affected agriculture and natural resources, especially water.

As a result, figures obtained by the Al-Jazeera Net correspondent from government sources confirmed that the contribution of the agricultural sector to GDP for the year 2022 is estimated between 2.5% and 3.5% as a result of water scarcity and lack of government support in terms of fertilizers and seeds, but government efforts are now heading to plant " Jojoba, which turns the arid desert into a green carpet.

Adel Al-Yasiri revealed the start of planting 500,000 jojoba plants in the desert of Al-Muthanna Governorate (Al-Jazeera)

What is jojoba?

According to the agricultural engineer, Ali Al-Qara Ghouli, one of the characteristics of the soil in Iraq is that it embraces the cultivation of any plant, including the jojoba plant, which is dicotyledonous. It has a group of non-superficial lateral roots, and it is also distinguished by the fact that its root network may reach a length of more than 10 times the length of the visible part of the plant above the ground, according to the type of soil and the ability of the roots to penetrate into it.

In his speech to Al-Jazeera Net, Al-Qara Ghuli explains that the jojoba plant is considered single in its genus, and is characterized by several stems that together form a circular shrub with a height ranging from one to 4 meters, depending on the rate of rainfall or irrigation water, while its leaves are very similar to the leaves of a tree. Olives, except that they are thick and have a leather-like texture.

As for the flowers of the plant, they are odorless and have colors that are not attractive to insects, according to Al-Qaragholi, who explained that as a result, the pollination process takes place by the wind, as the pollen’s light weight and disc-shaped shape helps it to be transported by the wind for distances that may exceed a thousand meters.

As for the jojoba fruits, they are of the "box" type and bear modern branches on both sides. They may be single and sometimes in pairs, or in clusters, the number of fruits ranging from two to 10 fruits, according to many factors that control this, according to Al-Qaragholi.

The Muthanna Investment Authority aspires to grow one million acres of jojoba (Al-Jazeera)

interest and investment

The jojoba plant is a kind of nut and its extracted oil is used in lotions, soaps, medical uses and ointments, according to what the Dean of the College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences at the University of Baghdad, Dr. Kazem Dili Hassan, told Al Jazeera.

Regarding the benefits of this plant, Dr. Hassan adds that the oil constitutes 50% of the content of the jojoba seed, as it is classified as a safe waxy oil that retains moisture, prevents dryness, and contributes to the manufacture of skin, body and cosmetic care products.

The agricultural academic added, "Jojoba wax oil is also used to paint furniture and floors, and to make high-quality, slow-burning candles. It is also used in biofuel."

Al-Muthanna Governorate (south) is the first in the country to actually start investing in the jojoba plant by exploiting the desert areas it is spread over.

Speaking to Al-Jazeera Net, Adel Al-Yasiri, Director General of the Muthanna Governorate Investment Commission, says, "The commission tended to exploit the Muthanna desert through agricultural investment, as 500,000 jojoba plants were actually planted."

Al-Yasiri revealed the Investment Authority's plan to grow one million dunums of this plant during the current year, in addition to asking the owners of strategic invested projects in the governorate to allocate 10% of the project area to grow jojoba plants or palm trees, according to him.

He stressed that the plan of the Muthanna Investment Commission is to transform the desert of the southern province into an integrated food and economic basket for many strategic and food crops that contribute effectively to the development of the economic reality of the province in particular and Iraq in general, as he put it.

Kazem Hussein, the number of benefits of jojoba oil in the production of cosmetics and medical uses and ointments (Al-Jazeera)

Poor agricultural culture

Despite the high hopes, however, the agricultural expert, Tahseen Al-Moussawi, believes - in his interview with Al-Jazeera Net - that the culture of growing jojoba plants in Iraq is weak, as well as the indicative messages through research and related institutions.

Al-Moussawi explained that going towards the cultivation of jojoba will contribute to the reclamation of desert areas, stabilizing the soil and preventing its erosion, justifying this by saying, "The age of a single plant may reach 200 years or more, as this plant tolerates thirst, salinity, and temperatures that reach more than 45 degrees Celsius, in addition to the possibility of cultivating Jojoba is found in all types of soil, even in stony ones.

The agricultural expert says that jojoba cultivation needs a national project to be adopted by state institutions, with government support to benefit from Egypt's experience, which has succeeded in investing in jojoba to revitalize its green economy, according to him.