An agro-economic analysis of chicken consumption in Iraq
Prof. doctor, Yousef Barzanji
Collage of agriculture/ University of Salahaddin –Erbil
26/ 7/2024
Iraq’s population to reached 44,414,800 by 2024, According to the US Department of Agriculture, each person in Iraq eats 18 chickens annually. Which is around 799,466,400Seven hundred and ninety-nine million four hundred and sixty-six thousand four hundred chickens are eaten.
If we put the average weight of each chicken at 2 kilograms, it’s 1,598,932,800 one billion five hundred ninety-eight million nine hundred thirty-two thousand eight hundred kilograms of chicken meat per year…!
If we calculate the average conversion rate of chicken to 2.5 kilograms per kilogram, the amount of chicken required to produce that amount of chicken per year in Iraq is 3,997,332,000 three billion nine hundred and ninety-seven million three hundred and thirty-two thousand kilograms of chicken That’s 3,997,332 three million nine hundred and ninety-seven thousand three hundred and thirty-two tons of poultry meat per year.
If we calculate the cost of one tone of feed is $400, the total amount of money needed to buy the above amount is 1,598,932,800 one billion five hundred ninety-eight million nine hundred thirty-two thousand eight hundred US dollars.
The question is, are there any other costs to produce chicken?
The answer is, of course yes, there is the cost of electricity, water, medicine, vitamins and much more, so the amount of money needed to provide 18 chickens for an Iraqi per year is much more.
As is known that, all the ingredients for the chicken feed come from abroad and are mixed only here. Accordingly, a huge amount of Iraqi money goes abroad to provide food, especially to neighboring countries.
The serious question is, Doesn’t Iraq has the land, water and human resources to produce raw materials for poultry feed and prevent the waste of all this money?
Can’t he solve the electricity problem with his two years’ money, and get rid of the generator smoke and noise?
All this is possible, it only needs pure intentions, smart people and planning.
