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February 28, 2022 — No Comments

Agriculture 4.0 – The Revolutionary Power of Artificial Intelligence

Author: Zrinka Boric, Giorgia Zaghi, and Beatrice Gori

According to the estimates, the global population will reach 9.7 billion people by 2050. To meet such growing food demand, the food production in the world will need to increase by 70% in the upcoming decades. At the same time, the agricultural sector is currently facing several challenges, such as limited availability of arable land and fresh water, a slowdown in the growth of crop yields, consequences of climate change, and covid-19. The UN's second Sustainable Development Goal (SDG2) targets to end hunger, double agricultural productivity, and ensure sustainable food production systems by 2030. To successfully address the challenges and achieve food security digital technologies are expected to become a foundation in future food production. At the World Summit on Food Security 2009, the four pillars of food security were identified as availability, access, utilization, and stability.

Recently the Focus Group on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) for Digital Agriculture (FG-AI4A) was formed, in cooperation with Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), to explore the potential of technologies (AI, IoT) in the acquisition and handling of necessary data, optimization of agricultural production processes, and to ultimately identify best ways (and possible challenges) to use such technologies within the agricultural domain.Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are forecast to add US$15 trillion to the global economy by 2030. According to the Government AI Readiness Index 2019, the governments of high income-countries have better odds to utilize these gains than low-income countries. Therefore, there is a risk that low-income countries could be left behind by the fourth industrial revolution.

Image Source: https://www.pexels.com/it-it/foto/piante-a-foglia-verde-2132171/

Examples of the use of digital technologies in agriculture

TECHNOLOGYUSE IN AGRICULTURE
AI The utilization of AI and Human Intelligence can increase the capabilities and knowledge of farmers and improve the sustainability of their productions. Meanwhile, farmers can better manage their resources and obtain superior production rates. Sustainable green farms with optimal yielding are a fundamental step towards the Sustainable Development Goal 12 which provides for a “responsible consumption and production."Farms produce massive amounts of data daily, which AI and machine learning models could utilize to increase agricultural productivity while minimizing harmful practices (i.e. extensive use of pesticides, monocropping). 
Image Data (drones & satellites) For instance, agricultural technology or AgriTech drones are powerful tools that can help monitor the most inaccessible and vulnerable areas and design and support adequate farming operations. By surveying and mapping the fields, drones provide information and predictions on the crops' growth and help prevent anomalies and disruption of the productions.Satellite image data paired with AI technology aims to help governments and organizations address agricultural challenges by providing granular insight and data analysis. 
GPS (Global Positioning System) remote sensing technology  GPS technology is already steadily used to enhance agricultural processes and productivity and provides insight into the quantity of food produced proportionately to units of water. 
Internet of Things The IoT refers to devices with a sensor that enables them to transmit data through a network. IoT enables the collection and analysis of data and enables better tracking of performance, making informed decisions, and increasing efficiency and sustainability. 
Yield monitoring and mapping During the harvest, a dataset is collected (using different sensors and GPS technology) which can later be analyzed through specified software.This valuable dataset provides relevant information that helps to improve yield management, rational use of available resources, develop future nutrient strategies, and ultimately achieve more sustainable agriculture with lowered production costs. 
Automation Different forms of automation are used in agriculture to help farms operate more efficiently and increase productivity. Automation appears in many forms, from simple automatic watering systems used in many households, to specialized agricultural drones, robots (like harvest robots), and even driverless tractors. 

AI in low-income countries

AI has the potential to have relevant impacts on low-income countries as it could bring about more opportunities to current problems in agriculture and numerous other fields. AI is a tool directed towards development enhancement, the so-called “AI4D” (AI for development). AI could bring about infrastructural and qualitative development, in terms of societal empowerment and change.  

Moreover, one of the most relevant improvements in the agricultural sector would be rendering more efficient use of scarce resources. 

Specified technologies and systems can target specific needs and/or problems in the exact timing and/or quantities. The specific cases of Israel and China exemplify the relevance of AI for development and resilience. 

Both countries have massively invested in smart agriculture to increase yields, productivity and improve precision agriculture given the constraints of the growing scarcity of natural resources. China and Israel managed to improve their agricultural output to an extent where it is possible to consider them as “nations that feed the world”. Moreover, they both could export basic technologies to other countries to implement such “smart tools” to strengthen the latter’s agricultural export sector. For instance, this would be the case for Israel in countries like Indonesia and Thailand that have successfully utilized Israeli technology to improve their agricultural sector and export.

While the adoption of AI technology in agricultural practices of low-income countries seems like an easy way to solve relevant problems related to development, there are still many risks and barriers that ought to be considered. More specifically, compared to the costs of traditional systems, initial infrastructure costs for AI are extremely high – this would call for more participation from transnational organizations and technology companies to assist and supply basic infrastructure in low-income countries. 

 Conclusion 

To conclude, the opportunities that AI holds in the agricultural sector seem to have the potential to accomplish part of the SDGs agenda for 2030. This is certainly an argument that can be applied to Western countries with the investment capacity to carry on a fourth agricultural revolution. Optimization of precision agriculture and the efficient use of scarce resources are essential steps to fight world hunger and climate change. 

However, new technologies come with high entry-level costs and such investment could be too risky or too high for low-income countries and small-scale food producers. 

While a new agricultural revolution will benefit countries and food producers who can afford to bring about sustainable development, it is necessary to acknowledge that a significant risk lies ahead: leaving out the have-nots in favor of the sole development of the haves. 

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December 7, 2021 — No Comments

Agricultural Supply Chain Crisis: How shortages impacted Economic Security in Italy (English and Italiano)

By: Maria Chiara Aquilino and Sarah Toubman

Image Source: https://www.world-grain.com/articles/15228-pandemic-boosts-durum-pasta-consumption

Global supply chain issues have recently manifested as a consequence of lockdowns implemented by world governments to curb the impact of Covid-19. Due to restrictions on movement, many producers are unable to adequately deliver goods across international borders in a timely manner, posing severe implications to both economic and food security across the globe. In Italy, these global supply chain issues have directly impacted consumers by raising the average costs of food, and limiting the earnings of the country’s large agricultural sector, which is a leading exporter of many goods, including pasta, wine, and olive oil. In the past three years, global demands on pasta surpassed production due to an increase in consumption as well as an inadequate response to the spike in demand by supply chain leaders. This has resulted in the loss of 3 million tons of wheat, causing an increase in pasta prices. Overall, supply chain problems in Italy compound pre-existing international economic and food insecurity caused by Covid-19 by decreasing the variety and quantity of key exports. 

            While Italy’s agricultural supply chain has no doubt been harmed by the impacts of Covid-19, it is this new complication in conjunction with other variables which has had such a severe impact on agricultural exports. For example, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, Italy lacked a robust labour force of truck drivers compared to other European countries. Additionally, Italy sources a large percentage of the wheat it uses to make pasta from Canada and Russia. Supply chain issues alone could have hampered the import of Canadian and Russian grain into Italy, but both countries also experienced ecological disasters in 2021 which led to poor wheat harvests. Canadian wildfires in the summer of 2021 and an exceptionally cold winter 2021 in Russia damaged both countries' harvests. 

            Difficulties concerning imports from Canada have particularly impacted the Italian supply chain. As Italy’s primary foreign provider of wheat, the poor harvest in Canada halved imports of the grain into Italy from 6.5 to 3.5 million tons. Already, this scarcity has caused the costs of wheat to increase by 60%, and prices are forecasted to rise by a further 15% by the end of December 2021. 

            At present, supply chain resilience is the main solution being promoted to tackle the ongoing issues undermining agricultural output. There has been an outstanding trend in the encouragement of reshoring strategies, which are aimed at redirecting the supply chain  production within national borders, and by integrating artificial intelligence into supply chain processes to optimize and improve the time management of production. While Italy imports around 40% of wheat necessary for the supply chain to meet the demand, according to Coldiretti (National Confederation of Growers), the spike in pasta prices can be dealt with by encouraging the Italian production of wheat. For this reason, growers have been advocating for agreements between agricultural and industrial businesses in order to establish prices that will not go below production costs. Fostering the Italian production of wheat to cope with the current supply chain crisis would also ensure better regulated goods, as Italy forbids the use of chemical herbicide for agricultural purposes, in contrast to Canada.

            The Italian pasta and wheat industries have not been the only ones affected by Covid-19 induced supply chain issues. Italian exports of milk and dairy products, beef cattle, eggs, flowers, and wine all fell between March-May 2019 and March-May 2020, with the latter plummeting by a shocking 37%. However, this dramatic decrease likely resulted from the global closures of the bar and restaurant sectors in addition to supply chain issues. A few industries even saw modest improvements in production despite the lockdowns, with Italian exports of fruits, vegetables, oil, cereal, pigs, and sheep and goats increasing between March-May 2019 and March-May 2020. Most major Italian trade partners imported fewer goods in 2020, with only Switzerland and China importing more agricultural products, food, and drinks from the country than they had in 2019. Germany, typically the top importer of Italian products, decreased its agricultural imports by 21% and food and drinks by 28% in 2020.

Particularly in the first few months of the lockdown of 2020, Italian industry suffered from labour shortages, slowed operations, and supply chain bottlenecks. Many farm and factory workers were ill with Covid-19 or in a mandatory quarantine, and consequently unable to work. Borders closures also meant that the fruit and vegetable agricultural sectors were unable to rely on seasonal workers from elsewhere in the European Union as usual. Thus, in the early months of the pandemic, the Italian supply chain was suffering more in the production stage than in transport and distribution. Challenges with the transport and distribution side of the supply chain in Italy have instead emerged more recently.

While the Italian agricultural sector remained functional during periods of lockdown, it suffered from secondary effects related to the pandemic. Other areas of production in the Italian economy were directly closed or restricted as part of measures taken by the government to slow the spread of the virus. It has been estimated that government restrictions “locked” up to 52% of the Italian state GDP due to the closure of sectors deemed nonessential. For example, 40% of Italy's twenty most economically crucial sectors were locked, including the retail trade and food services by an April 2020 decree of the Italian Prime Minister. Agricultural production in Italy is deeply interconnected with some of these other sectors, specifically hospitality. As a result, the closure of these sectors poses a risk to the economic security of Italian agri-business.

            Difficulties and shortages jeopardised Italian agricultural and economic security even prior to the global pandemic crisis generated by the outbreak of Covid-19. Labour shortages, supply chain bottlenecks, closures and an extended lockdown inevitably impacted demands from the international market. At the same time, further economic insecurity due to the pandemic stemmed from Italy’s difficulty in importing essential goods such as wheat. Continued issues with rising food prices, struggles in meeting the demand and limited earnings can be tackled through resilience strategies to lift the sector up using national production and innovative approaches. 

Italiano

Problemi nella supply chain globale si sono recentemente manifestati come conseguenze di lockdowns implementati dai governi per frenare l’impatto del Covid-19. A causa delle restrizioni implementate, molti produttori sono impossibilitati a fornire adeguatamente beni destinati al mercato internazionale rispettando tempistiche adeguate, compromettendo la sicurezza economica ed alimentare a livello globale. In Italia queste problematiche hanno diretto impatto sui consumatori a causa dell’incremento nella media dei prezzi degli alimenti e del limitato guadagno del paese nell’esteso settore agricolo, esportatore leader di numerosi beni,tra cui pasta, vino e olio d’oliva. Negli ultimi tre anni, la domanda di pasta a livello economico globale ha superato la produzione a causa di un incremento nella consumazione e di un’adeguata risposta a questo picco. Il risultato è stata la perdita di tre milioni di tonnellate di grano duro e l’aumento dei prezzi della pasta. Problemi relativi alla supply chain italiana risalivano all’epoca pre-Covid-19 e alla preesistente insicurezza economica ed alimentare, che è poi stata ulteriormente peggiorata dalla pandemia e dalla diminuzione di varietà e quantità di esportazioni cruciali.

            La filiera agricola italiana ha senza dubbio subito l’impatto del Covid-19, una crisi che si è sommata ad altre variabili che già da tempo avevano avuto un severo impatto su esportazioni agricole. Ad esempio, prima della pandemia l’Italia soffriva di una forte mancanza di manodopera di autotrasportatori rispetto ad altri paesi europei. Inoltre, l’Italia acquista una grande percentuale del grano duro utilizzato nella sua produzione di pasta da Canada e Russia. Le questioni relative alla catena di approvvigionamento da sole avrebbero potuto ostacolare l'importazione di grano canadese e russo in Italia, ma entrambi i paesi hanno inoltre subito disastri ecologici nel 2021 che hanno portato a raccolti di grano poveri. Gli incendi in Canada nell'estate del 2021 e un inverno 2021 eccezionalmente freddo in Russia hanno infatti danneggiato i raccolti di entrambi i paesi. 

            Le difficoltà relative alle importazioni dal Canada hanno avuto un impatto particolare sulla filiera italiana. Come primo fornitore straniero di grano all'Italia, il cattivo raccolto in Canada ha dimezzato le importazioni di grano in Italia da 6,5 a 3,5 milioni di tonnellate. Questa carenza ha già causato un aumento del 60% dei costi del grano, e i prezzi potrebbero aumentare di un ulteriore 15% entro la fine di dicembre 2021. 

            Attualmente, la resilienza della catena di approvvigionamento è vista come soluzione principale ed è promossa per affrontare le questioni in corso che minano la produzione agricola. C'è stata una tendenza eccezionale nell'incoraggiare strategie di reshoring, che mirano a riorientare la produzione della catena di approvvigionamento all'interno dei confini nazionali, e integrare l'intelligenza artificiale nei processi della catena di approvvigionamento per ottimizzare e migliorare la gestione dei tempi di produzione. Mentre l'Italia importa circa il 40% del grano necessario alla filiera per soddisfare la domanda, secondo la Coldiretti (Confederazione Nazionale dei Coltivatori), l'impennata dei prezzi della pasta può essere affrontata incoraggiando la produzione italiana di grano. Per questo motivo, i coltivatori hanno chiesto accordi tra aziende agricole e industriali al fine di stabilire prezzi che non scendano al di sotto dei costi di produzione. Promuovere la produzione italiana di frumento per far fronte all'attuale crisi della filiera garantirebbe anche una migliore regolamentazione delle merci, in quanto l'Italia vieta l'uso di diserbanti chimici per scopi agricoli, a differenza del Canada.

            L'industria italiana della pasta e del grano non è stata l'unica ad essere colpita da problemi di supply chain indotti da Covid-19. Le esportazioni italiane di latte e prodotti lattiero-caseari, bovini da carne, uova, fiori e vino sono diminuite tra marzo-maggio 2019 e marzo-maggio 2020, con quest'ultimo che precipita di un impressionante 37%. Tuttavia, questa drastica diminuzione è probabilmente dovuta alla chiusura globale dei settori bar e ristoranti, oltre che a problemi di supply chain. Alcune industrie hanno visto anche modesti miglioramenti nella produzione nonostante i blocchi, con l'aumento delle esportazioni italiane di frutta, verdura, olio, cereali, suini e ovini e caprini tra marzo-maggio 2019 e marzo-maggio 2020. La maggior parte dei principali partner commerciali italiani ha importato meno merci nel 2020, con solo la Svizzera e la Cina che importano più prodotti agricoli, cibo e bevande dal paese rispetto al 2019. La Germania, tipicamente il primo importatore di prodotti italiani, ha ridotto le sue importazioni agricole del 21% e il cibo e le bevande del 28% nel 2020.

In particolare nei primi mesi del blocco del 2020, l'industria italiana ha sofferto di carenze di manodopera, rallentamento delle operazioni e strozzature della catena di approvvigionamento.

Molti lavoratori agricoli e di fabbrica sono stati affetti da Covid-19 o in una quarantena obbligatoria, e di conseguenza incapaci di lavorare. La chiusura delle frontiere ha inoltre impedito ai settori dell'agricoltura di contare, come di consueto, su lavoratori stagionali provenienti da altri paesi dell'Unione europea. Così, nei primi mesi della pandemia, la filiera italiana soffriva più in fase di produzione che di trasporto e distribuzione. Le sfide legate al trasporto e alla distribuzione della supply chain in Italia sono invece emerse più di recente.

Altre aree di produzione nell'economia italiana sono state direttamente chiuse o limitate nell'ambito delle misure adottate dal governo per rallentare la diffusione del virus. È stato stimato che le restrizioni governative "hanno bloccato" fino al 52% del PILdello Stato italiano a causa della chiusura di settori ritenuti non essenziali. Ad esempio, il 40% dei venti settori economicamentepiù cruciali dell'Italia sono stati bloccati, tra cui il commercio al dettaglio e i servizi alimentari da un decreto del primo ministro italiano dell'aprile 2020. La produzione agricola in Italia è profondamente interconnessa con alcuni di questi altri settori, in particolare l'ospitalità. Di conseguenza, la chiusura di questi settori rappresenta un rischio per la sicurezza economica dell'agroindustria italiana.

            Nel complesso, l'indebolimento delle difficoltà e delle carenze aveva messo a repentaglio la sicurezza agricola ed economica italiana anche prima della crisi pandemica globale generata dal Covid-19. La carenza di manodopera, le strozzature della catena di approvvigionamento, le chiusure e un blocco prolungato hanno inevitabilmente inciso sulla domanda del mercato internazionale. Allo stesso tempo, l'ulteriore insicurezza economica dovuta alla pandemia deriva dalla difficoltà dell'Italia di importare beni essenziali come il grano. Indubbiamente, l'aumento dei prezzi dei prodotti alimentari, le lotte per soddisfare la domanda e i limitati guadagni devono ora essere affrontati attraverso strategie resilienti che possono aiutare a risollevare il settore, basandosi soprattutto sulla produzione nazionale e su approcci innovativi.

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November 30, 2021 — No Comments

Drought in Iran: What to expect?

By: Shahin Modarres, Yasmina Dionisi and Filippo Cimento.

Image Source: https://www.resetdoc.org/story/drought-worse-sanctions/

May God protect this land from foe, drought, and falsehood. This famous prayer engraved in the heart of Apadana Palace in Persepolis by the Persian Shahanshah Darius the Great has a particular meaning to Iranians, but why? Where do we stand 2570 years after these words were said?

A nation without water is a nation without the most crucial flow of life. Water is undeniably recognized as a priority for human sustainable development and linked to all other environmental and societal concerns.

It should come as no surprise then that the importance of water, and its role as a vital commodity, considerably increase in arid and desert areas. These, specifically, are regions where the natural phenomenon of drought does not only frequently occur but bears rather alarming economic, social and environmental costs. 

Iran is no stranger to an arid climate. Located 20 to 45 degrees north, more than 90 percent of the country’s area is dry. The question of water drought is relevant in such a country whose society and economy can be said to be water-dependent: water has played a key role in its society since the establishment of the first known human empire in the southwestern part of Iran.  Drought should be addressed as an urgent concern. Three major consequences of water drought in Iran are delved into in this article: respectively on the agricultural sector, on energy production in regards to hydroelectricity, and ultimately on internal migration.

Agriculture

Drought primarily affects the agriculture sector. Studies on the Iranian agricultural sector are limited but its major role in Iran’s political economy and food security can still be denoted. The country aims towards becoming fully self-sufficient in food production and food security remains a priority in Iran. 

Arid areas like the Middle East rely on irrigation. Reportedly, in what is the water used for agriculture, irrigation accounts for about 20% of the global agricultural evapotranspiration.   What has been evident is that Iran's agriculture is heavily impacted by water availability. Dating back to July 1968 when the Nationalization of Water Resources act was enacted, and all water in the country was considered a natural wealth and belonging to the nation; the relation between Iran’s agricultural sector and water use hardly goes unnoticed: Iran’s agricultural sector is, as a matter of fact, responsible for about 90% of water consumption at a national scale. From 2005, 98 percent of all agricultural raw materials in Iran were produced from irrigated lands. 

 Scholars find the main theme in this sense is the one of responsibility. This responsibility is principally visible in the action of the government in what concerns the resources management. For example, George Joffe claims that “Waste needs to be eliminated”, and “The real solutions, therefore, are to find ways of using water more efficiently and rationally, rather than fighting to retain control”. This could be done by reducing the amount of water lost through leaks which stays at a level of 50% of all water piped. Moreover “cost-effective methods of desalination through solar power will ultimately be the key to survival”. It is self-evident that Iran is not going in this direction, on the contrary, there is an increasing process of irresponsible exploitation, that in most cases reveals being without any vision. About this Iraj Emadonin says that “Farmlands under irrigation are estimated to comprise around 8 million hectares.” And since “Groundwater plays a very important role in Iran’s agricultural operations”, Roohollah Noori affirms that a portion of nearly “77% of Iran’s land (2021) is under extreme groundwater overdraft, where the rate of human uptake is more than three times higher than the rate of natural recharge.”

Hydro-electricity

Drought is halting the country’s desire to transition to hydroelectric reliance for energy. Iran uses water power to generate electricity. Still, if hydroelectric power stations have operated in the country for over half a century, the percentage of electricity that actually originates from these has considerably decreased over the course of the last decade. 40 years ago, 37% of the total electricity in Iran was produced with hydroelectric power stations. As of 2007, that percentage amounted to only 8%. Nevertheless, environmental concerns and increased awareness of the limited supplies of fossil fuels have been pushing the country to seek clean and renewable hydroelectric power.  Such overreliance posed limits within the government as it was pushed to subsidize fuels, for individual energy consumption.

What is sought out as a renewable alternative is a hydroelectric power, but it is clear how that a drought crisis makes it far from favorable. This comes at a dangerous price, considering Iran suffers from frequent shortages of power.

The level of energy production is influenced by different factors. The manifestation of drought is one of the most influential ones. In particular, the negative impact of this phenomenon is confirmed by Kaveh Madani, who states that “reservoirs, which are vital for farms, communities, and hydropower have fallen to dangerous lows”.

Different studies have been conducted on the topic, describing the relation between dry climate conditions and hydroelectric production. Saeed Jamali believes that “The expected climate warming could intensify droughts and dry spells, bringing to hydropower generation reduction, which is expected at the Saymareh, Saz Bon, Garsha, and Koran Bozan basins.”More in detail “because of insignificant streamflow reductions since 2020, hydropower production may not change considerably during this period. However, serious hydropower generation deficit is expected by the 2050s and 2080s”. But those are not the only regions that will be affected, in fact in Sadat Mousavi’s opinion is that climate change has the potential to significantly alter the hydropower generation in the Dez Dam basin. The results of the study showed a reduction in the flow of water and electricity generation for the Bakhtiari reservoir.” So, the scientific community is concordant in the necessity of seeking solutions. For instance, Pouya Ilfaei proposed the ideation of a management strategy of energy that works in a more efficient way, thanks to big data analysis.

Internal migration

The ultimate consequence of drought will be internal migration. 

In 1985, the United Nations Environmental Programme coined the term “environmental refugee”. It is known worldwide that human migration is largely affected by changes in climate and drought strikes are a considerable factor that causes the displacement of people, notably from rural centers to the cities. Climate change has been the most compelling cause for environmentally-induced migrations: the drought phenomenon has been classified as a slow-onset change, and scholars have highlighted how slow-acting processes lead to more long-term migrations. Worse, part of the country may become inhabitable. 

Drought-prone areas in Iran, around Lake Urmia, the Southern part of the country, and Khuzestan, for instance, host rural populations. These are largely dependent on resources such as water, soil, and crops.  

Not alarmingly Iran is experiencing a rapid migration from rural areas to urban centers and today over 75 percent of the population live in urban areas, the capital hosting 18 of them.Even worse, the abovementioned drought-prone areas are at risk of becoming inhabitable.

As mentioned above, scholars' voice agrees in considering the dangerous consequences of internal migration. First, Ali Mirchi underlines that “mass migration will increase more than we have ever seen” if “villages and rural areas run out of water, and livelihood will not be sustainable anymore”. Shahrzad Khatibi adds that “unplanned and irregular expansion of the main cities has contributed to overpopulation.” From the latter different problems derive, such as “urbanization and increasing water demand, while there is no match between demand and water availability”. The government should “reverse process of migration from the large cities of the country to smaller towns. Like in Tehran, where 20% of the population lives, the government should consider different short-term and long-term policies in order to decrease economic attractiveness”. The adoption of this kind of strategy is fundamental in order to avoid discontent related complications. In this regard, Rasoul Sadeghi warned that “Low levels of migration effectiveness underpin limited population redistribution. Spatial patterns reflect socioeconomic inequalities” which are relevant and develop in a gap between rich cities and underdeveloped countryside. Along with this situation, there has been “no policy concerns about housing costs, traffic congestion in destination areas.” But there is an even more complex process, internal to Tehran where overpopulation has made spatial inequality the distinguishing feature of urban unsustainable development.

Conclusion

As this conclusion is being written Iranians in different regions of the country are protesting against the mismanagement of the country's water resources whilst facing violent suppression by security forces. People in Isfahan have been peacefully standing where once Zayande Roud river lived, for more than a week now. Other cities particularly from the Southern and Central regions of the country are joining them to show their concern regarding a concerning lack of water resources. Agriculture and all related products face an unstable state where in many cases there are exist no sufficient water resources. Iran's source of hydroelectricity has also been seriously threatened by the same growing drought. The combination of both elements mentioned is generating a South to North pathway of internal migration, which foresees overpopulation in regions already facing the same problem on a more minor scale. Internal migration derived by drought is introducing many catastrophic factors, growing inhabitant zones is the least.