ABSTRACT
Central and southern Iraq is an alluvial plain formed by the deposition of sediment from the rivers Tigris and Euphrates. Then, as now, agriculture in lowland Iraq was only possible when an assured supply of irrigation water was available, and the growth of civilizations was dependent upon the life-giving waters of the rivers Tigris and Euphrates. The term 'hydraulic civilization' has been used to describe societies similar to those which existed in the alluvial lowlands of Iraq, and which required large scale management of water supplies by bureaucracies of central governments for widespread agriculture to be feasible. Although soil salinity usually receives most attention in discussions of agriculture, the really crucial problem for alluvial lowlands of Iraq is the availability of water for irrigation. Irrigated agriculture in Iraq now seems to be entering yet another crucial stage in its development. Even more fundamental to future development of agriculture in Iraq is emphasis which is to be placed on rainfed systems.
