Kurdish wheat farmers waiting on payments from Baghdad
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Wheat farmers in the Kurdistan Region are still waiting for full payment for their crop from the Iraqi government, an agriculture official said on Saturday.
"Although we received 157,600 tons of wheat this year, which is less compared to last year's 287,700 tons, we have still received the least amount of money, which is 31 billion dinars ($23.6 million), and over 91 billion dinars ($69.4 million) is yet to be disbursed," Nasreen Ahmed, director of silos in Sulaimani province, told Rudaw.
This year, the federal government purchased about 400,000 tons of wheat from farmers across the four provinces of the Kurdistan Region - 158,000 tons from Sulaimani and Halabja, 122,000 tons from Erbil, and nearly 118,000 tons from Duhok.
The government bought the wheat at a rate of 850,000 dinars per ton (about $649), amounting to a total of over 300 billion dinars ($229 million). However, Baghdad has so far sent only 72.5 billion dinars ($55.3 million) in two instalments.
Ahmed attributed the delay to a shortage of cash from the Iraqi government.
"The main reason for the delay in payment, as far as it is discussed, is the shortage of cash, because this year wheat payments were also delayed in other provinces in central and southern Iraq,” she said.
Ahmed said they are working with the Iraqi Ministry of Trade and General Company for Grain Trading to get the payments to the farmers as soon as possible.
According to Ahmed, the Iraqi Ministry of Trade last week requested a categorization of farmers’ payments based on the amount of wheat procured from them, 1–50 tons and 50–500 tons. "We prepared and sent everything Baghdad requested, hoping that after the election, farmers' wheat payments will also be disbursed,” she said.
"Although we received 157,600 tons of wheat this year, which is less compared to last year's 287,700 tons, we have still received the least amount of money, which is 31 billion dinars ($23.6 million), and over 91 billion dinars ($69.4 million) is yet to be disbursed," Nasreen Ahmed, director of silos in Sulaimani province, told Rudaw.
This year, the federal government purchased about 400,000 tons of wheat from farmers across the four provinces of the Kurdistan Region - 158,000 tons from Sulaimani and Halabja, 122,000 tons from Erbil, and nearly 118,000 tons from Duhok.
The government bought the wheat at a rate of 850,000 dinars per ton (about $649), amounting to a total of over 300 billion dinars ($229 million). However, Baghdad has so far sent only 72.5 billion dinars ($55.3 million) in two instalments.
Ahmed attributed the delay to a shortage of cash from the Iraqi government.
"The main reason for the delay in payment, as far as it is discussed, is the shortage of cash, because this year wheat payments were also delayed in other provinces in central and southern Iraq,” she said.
Ahmed said they are working with the Iraqi Ministry of Trade and General Company for Grain Trading to get the payments to the farmers as soon as possible.
According to Ahmed, the Iraqi Ministry of Trade last week requested a categorization of farmers’ payments based on the amount of wheat procured from them, 1–50 tons and 50–500 tons. "We prepared and sent everything Baghdad requested, hoping that after the election, farmers' wheat payments will also be disbursed,” she said.