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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Rice farmers in Erbil province are hard at work planting this year’s crop, which, after two rainy winters, promises to yield a bumper harvest.
It is hard physical work, but the farmers say it is worth it, as the crop is highly profitable. In Harir and Batas, about 70 km northwest of Erbil, the number of farmers turning to the crop has risen dramatically.
“The price is really good. We have buyers coming from Sulaimani and Duhok,” rice farmer Karzan Sabah told Rudaw, leaning on his shovel in knee deep water.
Rice needs lots of water to grow. Fortunately for these farmers, good rainfall over the past two years has replenished the spring-heads and left the soil extremely fertile.
Demand is also very high, as rice is the stable of every Kurdish dinner table.
Despite this, the Kurdistan Region continues to import the majority of its rice cheaply from Turkey and Iran, undercutting local farmers.
By Bakhtyar Qadir
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