By Ahmet Dursun

ISFAHAN, Iran

Farmers in Iran’s eastern Isfahan province on Friday demonstrated to protest the government’s failure to ease a drought that has plagued the region for a decade, according to local media reports.

Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency reported that local farmers in Isfahan had staged large demonstrations following Friday prayers.

Protesters reportedly urged the government to step up efforts to provide the region with adequate water supplies for agricultural use.

In recent years, the decade-long drought has forced many of Isfahan’s farmers to abandon their fields and seek employment in urban areas.

Late last year, thousands of Iranians took to the streets in different parts of the country to protest high unemployment rates and rising costs of living.