farms across khuzestan. today, the province provides close to half of all the sugar grown across the country. but sugarcane is one of the most water intensive crops in the world. every year in khuzestan, up to 3.5 billion litres of precious water are released from the dams to grow sugarcane, more than any other crop in khuzestan. this drain on water supplies was forewarned by many, including in parliament 18 years ago. now retired in ahvaz, ghasem shadidzadeh remains frustrated that the government is wedded to sugarcane rather than alternative crops that need less water.