Iraq’s agricultural sector represents a small but vital component of Iraq’s economy. Over the past several decades agriculture’s role in the economy has been heavily influenced by Iraq’s involvement in military conflicts, particularly the 1980- 88 Iran-Iraq War, the 1991 Gulf War, and the 2003 Iraq War, and by varying degrees of government effort to promote and/or control agricultural production.

 Present-day Iraqi agriculture and trade have been heavily shaped by the 1990 U.N. sanctions and the Iraqi government’s response to them. From 1991 to 1996, prior to the startup of the U.N.’s Oil-For-Food program (OFFP), Iraq’s agricultural imports averaged $958 million or less than half of the pre-war level.