Farmers’ Support Policies and Their Economic Impact on the Sustainable Development of the Agricultural Sector in Iraq

Abstract

The research aims to study the impact of policies on the agricultural sector in Iraq during the period (1990-2025) by studying the relationship between agricultural domestic product (the dependent variable) and a number of independent variables (government support, agricultural loans⸲ cultivated area and agricultural mechanization). The data was collected from Ministry of Planning and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The descriptive and quantitative method was used via using Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model. Results through the bounds test showed the existence of a long-term equilibrium relationship. Between the model variables and the error correction model, there was a speed of adjustment towards long-term equilibrium that reached (29%). The research reached a number of recommendations, including that government support has a positive and significant impact on agricultural domestic product, while agricultural loans had a negative impact in the short term and a positive impact in the long term. It also turned out that agricultural mechanization has a negative impact in the short term due to weakness and lack of positive planning, while it has a positive impact in the long term. The results confirmed the importance of these supportive policies to achieve sustainable development in the agricultural sector in Iraq.