Abstract:
Water scarcity is an important threat to food security in the Euphrates–Tigris river. Water
scarcity is a huge worldwide problem that results from the rapid increase in water demand, which
exceeds the amount of available water. The most significant problems currently affecting countries
are food insecurity water scarcity. The Euphrates–Tigris river countries suffer from different political
issues, such as the Syrian war and internal civil conflicts in Iraq. In addition, this area consists
of only three countries: Iraq, Syria, and Turkey, but it affects the entire Middle East. Turkey has
established many irrigation projects compared to Iraq, which still suffers from the previous American
invasion. Therefore, this study examines the Euphrates–Tigris river (using two countries) to examine
the relationship between water scarcity and food security from 1992 to 2020. This study will be
conducted using a fixed and random regression approach over 18 years. The results show a negative
relationship between water scarcity and food security in the short run, at a 10% significance level,
and a long-term positive relationship of 1%. Thus, the use of research and development and the
encouragement of investments will help policymakers to develop a nexus between water scarcity
and food security.