Iraqi wheat farmers have turned to drilling wells in the desert to help sustain the country's agriculture, using centre-pivot method involving equipment rotating in a circle to water crops through sprinklers. This uses at least 50 percent less water than flooding -- the vastly more wasteful traditional way used for millennia during which the land is submerged. It is a risky move that threatens to deplete the groundwater in a nation already battered by frequent drought. "Initially, we relied on rainwater, using special methods to collect it for farming. However, since 2013, we have switched to using pivot sprinklers," says one farmer. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES