Petting a water buffalo before tying a fodder bag around its neck, Mustafa Ahmed tends his father's herd in Iraq's southern province of Najaf where his family have raised animals for generations but lack of water now threatens their livelihood.
Iraq forms part of the "Fertile Crescent", land sweeping from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf which has been farmed for thousands of years.
But the landscape has been devastated by upstream damming of Iraq's two main rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates, lower rainfall trends and decades of conflict.
Ahmed's father, Ahmed Abdul Hussein, said the dire water shortage in their home Al-Mishkhab district is forcing him to sell their animals one by one - heartbreaking for his son.
Reuters spoke to six families of herders in Najaf province who all said they have had to sell animals or have had livestock die over the last months.
Persons:
Mustafa Ahmed, Ahmed Abdul Hussein
Organizations:
Reuters
Locations:
Najaf, Iraq, Persian, Mishkhab