Abstract

The conflict between Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) and security forces in Iraq caused the displacement of 6 million people and the large-scale destruction of the agricultural sector in Iraq. As of April 2020, it is reported that 4.7 million people returned home, while 1.4 remain displaced. This study assesses what it is that prevents displaced farmers from returning to agriculture as a durable livelihood solution. The analysis presented relies on data collected in the panel “Longitudinal Study on Access to Durable Solutions among Iraqi IDPs”, drawing on five rounds of data collected between 2016 and 2020 from 3,852 households displaced in 2014–2015. The share of households depending on agriculture as a main source of income declined from 25 to two per cent. This decline is also driven by large-scale destruction of farming assets and irrigation infrastructure, coupled with lack of incentives to return to farming and limited access to farm inputs. The article concludes with policy recommendations highlighting the importance of reconstructing farm and rural infrastructure as a precondition for return to farming. It also emphasises the need for integrated development of rural economies to increase income diversification and improve resilience.

中文翻译：

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为什么流离失所的农民不重返农业？伊拉克的教训

摘要

伊拉克和黎凡特伊斯兰国（ISIL）与伊拉克安全部队之间的冲突导致600万人流离失所，并大规模破坏了伊拉克的农业部门。截至2020年4月，据报道有470万人返回家园，另有1.4人仍然流离失所。这项研究评估了阻止流离失所的农民重返农业作为持久的生计解决方案的原因。提出的分析基于“伊拉克国内流离失所者对持久性解决方案的获取的纵向研究”小组中收集的数据，该研究借鉴了2016年至2020年之间从2014-2015年流离失所的3852户家庭收集的五轮数据。依靠农业作为主要收入来源的家庭所占比例从25％下降到2％。下降的原因还在于农业资产和灌溉基础设施的大规模破坏，再加上缺乏鼓励重返农业的动力以及获得农业投入品的机会有限。本文最后以政策建议为重点，强调了重建农业和农村基础设施作为重返农业的前提的重要性。它还强调了农村经济一体化发展的必要性，以增加收入多样化和提高抵御能力。