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AKRE, Kurdistan Region – Local officials and farmers in Akre, Duhok province warn that an unknown disease will ravage this year’s fig harvest, destroying almost half of the area’s crops.
On average, 3,600 tons of figs are produced in Akre every year, but this figure is set to drop by 45 percent, Akre agriculture department head Ahmed Jamil told Rudaw.
Waleed Ali has been a farmer in the Akre subdistrict of Dinarta for over 40 years. He owns over 200 fig trees, but fears that he may lose thousands of dollars’ worth of fruit to the disease.
“There is no product. All the [figs] have fallen. I do not receive any salary. I pinned my hopes on this product, but this is what happened. I may lose $10,000-15000 in these fig trees. I have sprayed the trees with pesticides twice, but it seems to be ineffective,” he told Rudaw.
Akre is celebrated for its fruitful harvest, with the town home to thousands of dunams of ripe land, and with fig harvest season imminent, farmers are due to send their produce in the coming days. Some of Ali’s figs, however, have already yellowed and fallen from their trees.
On average, 3,600 tons of figs are produced in Akre every year, but this figure is set to drop by 45 percent, Akre agriculture department head Ahmed Jamil told Rudaw.
Waleed Ali has been a farmer in the Akre subdistrict of Dinarta for over 40 years. He owns over 200 fig trees, but fears that he may lose thousands of dollars’ worth of fruit to the disease.
“There is no product. All the [figs] have fallen. I do not receive any salary. I pinned my hopes on this product, but this is what happened. I may lose $10,000-15000 in these fig trees. I have sprayed the trees with pesticides twice, but it seems to be ineffective,” he told Rudaw.
Akre is celebrated for its fruitful harvest, with the town home to thousands of dunams of ripe land, and with fig harvest season imminent, farmers are due to send their produce in the coming days. Some of Ali’s figs, however, have already yellowed and fallen from their trees.
Many of Ali's figs are yellowed and fallen. Photo: Rudaw TV
Though unable to specify which disease is blighting Akre’s fig trees, Mahdi Taha, head of the preservation section at Dinarta’s agriculture directorate, put forward a whole host of reasons behind the outbreak.
“The main reason behind it is an instant change in weather, improper pruning and watering, and not using medicine which protects trees in winter,” he said.
Seasonal diseases that harm fruit harvests in the Kurdistan Region and threaten farmer livelihood often rear their head.
Last year, an apple scab disease saw an unprecedentedly low harvest yield in Barwari valley, Duhok province.
Additional reporting by Naif Ramazan
Though unable to specify which disease is blighting Akre’s fig trees, Mahdi Taha, head of the preservation section at Dinarta’s agriculture directorate, put forward a whole host of reasons behind the outbreak.
“The main reason behind it is an instant change in weather, improper pruning and watering, and not using medicine which protects trees in winter,” he said.
Seasonal diseases that harm fruit harvests in the Kurdistan Region and threaten farmer livelihood often rear their head.
Last year, an apple scab disease saw an unprecedentedly low harvest yield in Barwari valley, Duhok province.
Turkish shelling of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) targets forced many farmers on the Turkey-Iraq border to abandon their farms. Farmers were unable to treat their trees with preventative products, leading to the spread of the disease.
Additional reporting by Naif Ramazan
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