Kurdistan Region’s Halabja launches agritourism spot
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Region’s first agritourism spot was launched in Halabja, with tourists visiting daily, providing a market for local produce.
“Today, we came to this place and picked the fresh crops with our own hands,” Ramiar Ali, a resident from Darbandikhan, told Rudaw’s Sazgar Salah on Sunday.
The farm is not the only highlight for tourists as there is also a place to eat and take a rest. However, most visit to take in the beauty of the place.
“The atmosphere is everything, the place is a spectacular tourist destination and everyone should see this place,” Lava Barzan, a local, said.
“It is good to set aside one day a week and change your mood,” she added.
The project owner has worked continuously for around nine years to get the farm to this day, and he is looking forward to improving it.
“Farmers face a lot of barriers and our products do not make enough profit in the market, so our first idea was to sell our crops through this agritourism destination,” Hamid Ismail, the owner of Kurdistan agritourism, told Rudaw’s Sazgar Salah on Sunday.
Despite having fertile soil, Kurdish farmers often struggle with selling their produce. In 2020, farmers trampled their own tomatoes in protest over low prices, and potato farmers dumped their produce in the street, protesting the presence of banned imports that pushed their fruit and vegetables out of the market.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has named agriculture as a sector it wants to develop as part of efforts to diversify the economy away from oil.
A main objective of Prime Minister Masrour Barzani’s cabinet has been to diversify the Region’s economy and take advantage of its fruitful agricultural capabilities to export goods abroad, despite the majority of its agricultural products being imported from neighboring Iran and Turkey.
The Kurdistan Region in December made the first-ever export of its renowned pomegranates to Gulf countries, marking the Region's first non-oil export and a landmark step in efforts to broaden the economy.
“Today, we came to this place and picked the fresh crops with our own hands,” Ramiar Ali, a resident from Darbandikhan, told Rudaw’s Sazgar Salah on Sunday.
The farm is not the only highlight for tourists as there is also a place to eat and take a rest. However, most visit to take in the beauty of the place.
“The atmosphere is everything, the place is a spectacular tourist destination and everyone should see this place,” Lava Barzan, a local, said.
“It is good to set aside one day a week and change your mood,” she added.
The project owner has worked continuously for around nine years to get the farm to this day, and he is looking forward to improving it.
“Farmers face a lot of barriers and our products do not make enough profit in the market, so our first idea was to sell our crops through this agritourism destination,” Hamid Ismail, the owner of Kurdistan agritourism, told Rudaw’s Sazgar Salah on Sunday.
Despite having fertile soil, Kurdish farmers often struggle with selling their produce. In 2020, farmers trampled their own tomatoes in protest over low prices, and potato farmers dumped their produce in the street, protesting the presence of banned imports that pushed their fruit and vegetables out of the market.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has named agriculture as a sector it wants to develop as part of efforts to diversify the economy away from oil.
A main objective of Prime Minister Masrour Barzani’s cabinet has been to diversify the Region’s economy and take advantage of its fruitful agricultural capabilities to export goods abroad, despite the majority of its agricultural products being imported from neighboring Iran and Turkey.
The Kurdistan Region in December made the first-ever export of its renowned pomegranates to Gulf countries, marking the Region's first non-oil export and a landmark step in efforts to broaden the economy.