Iran vs. US: The Water Crisis Threatening Global Pistachio Production

Cracking Earth and Declining Aquifers in Rafsanjan

Fissures measuring the width of a hand run across Armin’s pistachio orchard in southeastern Iran, destroying irrigation lines and absorbing vital water supplies as the terrain underneath him subsides. Armin, whose real name DW chose not to reveal for security reasons, lives in the arid region of Rafsanjan. Local growers have raised the green-seeded tree across generations, utilizing its kernels in everything from ice cream to viral food trends like Dubai chocolate. While the area historically satisfied a major share of global pistachio demand, severe drought paired with intensive groundwater pumping has turned Rafsanjan into one of Iran’s most rapidly sinking zones.

One study highlighted by Tempo.co found parts of the ground are dropping by up to 37 centimeters, or 14 inches, annually. Older farmers in Rafsanjan remember reaching water at depths of just 20 meters, or 66 feet. Today, many have to drill down to 300 meters as wells run dry.

“You look, and the earth has opened its mouth, and the water just pours in,” Armin told Tempo.co, describing the rapid spread of ground fissures over the past five years.

Ali Beitollahi, who leads subsidence research at Iran’s Road, Housing and Urban Development Research Center, notes the man-made nature of the crisis. According to Beitollahi, land subsidence in Iran is a man-made hazard rather than a natural one like an earthquake, and much of the damage cannot be undone because collapsed aquifers can never hold as much water as before.

Parallel Crises in California’s Central Valley

It is a similar picture in California, where some pistachio farmers are also seeing their ground sink. Joe Coelho’s family has cultivated the crop since 2000, and while his farm in Fresno is not directly affected, he acknowledges that growers are very aware of the risk. Coelho serves as the director of sustainability at American Pistachio Growers.

“Subsidence is absolutely a serious issue in parts of the San Joaquin Valley,” Coelho stated in interviews covered by Tempo.co.

The link between growers in the two countries stretches back to the 1960s when US farmers started building a domestic pistachio industry. They did it using an Iranian variety, and the pistachio that now dominates most Californian orchards is called Kerman, named after a city near Armin’s farm in Iran. California has recently taken over from Iran as the top pistachio-producing nation worldwide, with the Central Valley hosting the bulk of this harvest where Coelho tends to his trees.

Though the Central Valley remains one of the world’s most productive farming regions, parts of the ground are sinking by as much as 20 centimeters a year. As surface water reliability has declined, growers have relied more heavily on groundwater. In certain areas, the soil no longer maintains the same structure or water movement it once had.

Economic Pressures and Global Market Shifts

Pistachio orchards in the Central Valley use around 4% of the valley’s crop water, whereas in Rafsanjan, more than nine in 10 liters of groundwater go directly to pistachio orchards. As excessive pumping drains underground water reserves, the subterranean voids collapse, triggering the downward movement of the land surface above.

For Iranian farmers, the environmental crisis compounds severe economic hurdles. Armin explains that the boom driven by global food trends like Dubai chocolate never reaches local growers because international sanctions and global competition have stripped Iran of the premium markets it once held as the world’s biggest pistachio producer.

“We used to be known for quality. Now we are known for the low price,” Armin said, noting that some farmlands near his are dead or dying while others sit completely abandoned.