Kurdish farmers struggle to market their wheat

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - After two difficult years because of lack of rain, Kurdistan Region's farmers were hopeful that this summer's bountiful wheat harvest would finally bring them some financial relief. But instead of reaping the benefits, they are having to sell their product at lower prices compared to farmers in other areas of Iraq. They place blame on the regional and federal governments, saying Kurdish farmers do not get the support they need. 

Haji Abdokhana is a farmer in the Semel district of Duhok province. His farm produced 1,000 tons of wheat this year, but the Iraqi government bought only 200 tons. He sold some to businessmen, but does not know what do with the remaining 170 tons. 

“We suffered from drought for two years but [this year] we hoped to sell it. We sold some at a low price,” he told Rudaw’s Naif Ramazan on Thursday. 

His buyers sell the wheat to the Iraqi government in Nineveh province at a higher price. The farmer said he won't receive his money until the federal government pays his buyers. 

Baghdad buys most of the wheat grown in areas under federal control, but only a portion of what is grown in the Kurdistan Region. And while the Iraqi government pays 850,000 IQD ($575) for a ton of wheat, private buyers pay Kurdish farmers only about 500,000 IQD ($337) per ton. 

Khalid Mohammed is a farmer in Duhok province. He told Rudaw that he has spent 100 million Iraqi dinars ($67,567) on the irrigation system alone. 

“How can I sell [wheat] for 400-500,000 dinars? We hope that there will be a solution with the Iraqi government,” he said.

Iraq has agreed to buy just 500,000 tons of wheat from the Kurdistan Region. 

Soran Omar is a member of the Iraqi parliament’s economy, industry and trade committee. He said that Hayder Nuri, director of the Iraqi Grain Board, had told him that Kurdish officials failed to convince Baghdad to take more wheat. 

“He said that the Kurdistan Regional Government’s delegation was the reason why this low amount was dedicated to the Kurdistan Region which had asked [Baghdad] to receive 1.6 million tons of wheat, saying it had even more. But the Iraqi government and the Iraqi delegation did not believe that the Region had this amount,” the outspoken parliamentarian told Rudaw’s Nwenar Fatih on Wednesday.

Faris Rasheed is another farmer from Duhok province. 

“I had 2,000 tons. The [Iraqi] government took 600 tons and 500 remains. I sold the remainder in the market because I needed the money,” he said. 

The Kurdish farmer had to sell his wheat in the market at a price that was nearly half of what the Iraqi government pays. 

Farmers say this year was very productive, but they are not reaping the full benefits of a good harvest because of problems selling the wheat. 

Waleed Arab is a representative of the Duhok agriculture department. He told Rudaw that Duhok alone has produced an estimated 425,000 tons of wheat but Baghdad purchased only 125,000 tons. “Many of the farmers lost a lot of money," he said.

“The Iraqi and Kurdish governments initially told us that they would buy all our wheat and pay the money in cash. This made us very happy. However, when the wheat grew, they changed their minds,” said farmer Adil Abdi.

His farm produced 300 tons but only 100 tons were bought by the Iraqi government. 

Saeed Omar, the head of Erbil Silo, said only 145,000 tons of wheat from Erbil farmers will be received by Baghdad. “This number is very low and [the government] has been unjust towards the Region’s farmers,” he complained. 

The Iraqi government began receiving wheat in late May and the process ends on Saturday.

The director of the Iraqi Grain Board told Rudaw on Wednesday that the process is fair. 

“Annually, we need 4.6 million tons of wheat, but our production has exceeded 5.1 million tons. Additionally, Iraq continuously imports wheat. We bought about 300,000 tons in February which is mixed with the local one, producing a very good quality wheat,” he said. 

He said that supply has increased by 70 percent compared to last year and denied treating the Kurdistan Region differently. 
 
“Generally speaking, all the wheat of the Kurdistan Region has been received - whether received directly from the Region or received after being moved to disputed areas. Our aim is to receive the wheat of all farmers - be it in the Kurdistan Region or Basra, Salahaddin or Anbar,” he stressed. 

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) banned the import of wheat to the Region earlier this year to support farmers, but this did not help much. 

Omar commended the KRG for the decision. 

“No wheat was imported from Syria, Iran or Turkey. There are even some factories in the Region which produce flour. They were obliged not to import any wheat during the season in which local produce was harvested. They were allowed to buy wheat from Turkey and other countries only after the local produce was sold out. This decision was very good and courageous,” he said. 

The transportation of their wheat to the silos and then waiting for days for their it to be received adds another headache and cost to the burden of the farmers. 

Erbil farmers struggling to sell their wheat blame bureaucracy and nepotism. 

Some farmers, who were waiting in long queues in front of Erbil silo on Thursday, claimed that the silo takes in illegally-imported wheat but keeps theirs on hold. 

The KRG claimed in 2021 that it would end the problem by building a giant silo and buying the wheat itself. The project was supposed to provide some financial security for Kurdish farmers who have struggled for years to find buyers for their wheat, but it does not seem to have had a meaningful impact yet. 

Video editor: Aland Qaradaxi 

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