Why was Hammurabi most concerned with the construction and repair of irrigation canals?

The main problem of the Babylonian kingdom, like any state of the ancient world, was food. This was especially true for the Babylonian kingdom, which was located on the Persian peninsula and was especially acutely experiencing problems with fertile soils. Due to the fact that the two largest rivers of the Babylonians, the Tigris and the Euphrates, did not overflow as much as, for example, the Nile. Therefore, the most important thing was to ensure sufficient irrigation of the soil for farming.