Establishment of the department:

The department was created after a series of developments and changes that began in 1971-1977, where it was established as a plant production department, and in 1977-78 it started as a soil branch affiliated to the plant production department, then it became an independent department in 1983-1984 under the name of the Soil and Land Reclamation Department and continued as such until 2001 - 2002, when its name and vocabulary were changed to the Department of Soil and Water Sciences. This came in line with the directives of the state, where water resources are of strategic importance in various agricultural, industrial and human consumption sectors and have taken on a great dimension recently after many countries have placed them within their strategic policies in terms of availability and investment. Therefore, there is an urgent need to expand the sciences of soil and water, which cannot be separated as a result of the deterioration of water quality and quantity and the increase in soil problems as a result. Depending on that, the department includes water axes to soil axes within its curricula and vocabulary.

Vision of the Department:
The department aspires to continue enriching and enhancing its outputs to align with the changes occurring in the agricultural climate environment, building knowledge at both the thematic and agricultural levels to address these changes according to a well-studied plan.

Mission of the Department:
The mission of the department is to continue fulfilling the tasks of modern knowledge areas and directing its goals and outputs to address the rapid changes in soil degradation, climate change, desertification, and environmental pollution, finding solutions in coordination with relevant sectors to encourage investment in scientific outputs.

Goals of the Department

The department aims to focus on developing research and scientific skills for its students through graduation research projects, expanding the use of geospatial and satellite technologies to survey soil and water sources, evaluate them, monitor the agricultural environment, and desertification, while transferring these experiences and information to relevant sectors and participating in developing strategic solutions for water resource issues, environmental pollution, and desertification risks.

Specialized Goals

1. Preparing specialized and qualified personnel in the fields of Soil Science and Water Resources.

2. Increasing the graduates' ability to infer and deduce knowledge in identifying problems and constraints and linking them together to find solutions.

3. Strengthening the capacity of personnel to absorb modern technologies that meet the needs of the central and southern regions of Iraq regarding soil classification and land use suitability using geospatial technologies.

4. Expanding the application of high-efficiency irrigation methods such as drip and sprinkler irrigation.

5. Focusing on combating the causes and manifestations of desertification, whether they are natural or human-induced.

6. Emphasizing the development and building of knowledge for graduates in the management of water resources and natural resources, maintenance, pollution reduction, and pollution treatment.