Dry winter worries farmers in Rojava and the Kurdistan Region

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region  — A lack of rainfall this winter is worrying farmers in both northeast Syria (Rojava) and the Kurdistan Region, who are unable to harvest their crops. 

In Rojava, it has only rained three times since winter began, leaving local farmers dependent on wells - which are hard to find, and drying up. 

"I have 175 dunams of land. We can irrigate them but there is no water. It didn’t rain this year," said farmer Sherzad Gunjo. 

Farmers in Erbil and the Garmiyan plains are facing the same problem. 

"It was God’s will that there was no rain this year. Our crops haven’t grown. Some people in the village have an irrigation machine and watered their crop fields, and they look green. The rest is like a red and barren land where nothing has grown," Kamal Sabir said from the Garmiyan plains. 

Crops are faring better in the Sharazur plains, the most fertile farmland in the Region. 

"Sharazur doesn’t need much rain. It rained a lot last year and our harvest season was not good. If it rained a little, once every 20 days, it would be good here," said farmer Mohammed Pirwaisy. 

Some farmers have now resorted to growing new types of crop which don't require as much water.

"We got a new type of wheat and tested it for two years. It will be ready to harvest in five months. It would be good for Garmiyan and Sharazur. There won’t be problems if there’s no rain. The best thing is to search for new types of crops," said farmer Khasraq Berashkayi. 

Reporting by Vivian Fatah and Arkan Ali

Translation and video editing by Sarkawt Mohammed