Pistachio Scarcity Looms As Droughts Decimate Farms

If you love pistachios, stock up while you can: the next few years or more may see a scarcity of the nut as long-running droughts in Iran have decimated entire pistachio farms and have others on the brink of collapse. Pistachios are a vital export for Iran, coming second only to crude oil, with the nation's various pistachio farms producing 250,000 tons last year. Extreme water scarcity in the nation, though, has led to mass farm loss and more farms are sure to fail soon if something doesn't change.

Droughts have been devastating Iran's pistachio crops for more than a decade, but an increasingly warm world coupled with unregulated water usage has led to water scarcity at the point of crisis. Entire regions have lost their pistachio farms, and those that remain have limited water options. Many aquifers are dried and collapsed and many wells are so deep the water has become salty and nearly unusable.

The solution is not a simple one, and would require limits be placed on water usage, as well as the wider adoption of more efficient irrigation systems, such as drip irrigation. Many farmers are unable to afford purchasing and installing those systems, though, especially as crop production decreases.

According to Tehran's National Climate Change Office's Mohsin Nasseri to Phys, the nation's government is considering offering financial perks that would encourage the conservation of water. This could include providing the money needed for farmers to install those aforementioned irrigation systems, though that itself could prove difficult as some farmers resist the changes.

SOURCE: Phys.org