Ministry of Agriculture Confirms Exclusion of Productive Farmlands from Million Housing Initiative

The Ministry of Agriculture affirmed on Friday that non-productive lands near city centers would be selected for the National Million Housing Unit Initiative, stressing full commitment to decisions prohibiting the bulldozing of agricultural lands and orchards. Undersecretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Mahdi Sahar Al-Jabouri, stated to the official news agency that the Prime Minister launched the initiative, implemented under the direct supervision of the Minister of Agriculture across all Iraqi governorates, excluding the Kurdistan Region. Its aim is to distribute housing units to eligible segments of society within adopted legal frameworks, aligning with urban expansion requirements, provided that land allocation does not conflict with productive agricultural uses. Al-Jabouri explained that the Ministry operates firmly within Cabinet Resolution No. (50) of 2016, which explicitly prohibits bulldozing agricultural lands or allocating them for non-agricultural purposes. He noted the initiative’s implementation involves joint coordination between the Ministries of Agriculture and Housing, provincial agriculture directorates, governors, and the Agricultural Land Department. This coordination aims to classify and select non-productive lands near cities for allocation to citizens under this major national initiative.