Kurdistan is largely self-sufficient, agriculture minister reassures population


The Kurdistan Region has reached self-sufficiency in many areas, the Region’s agriculture minister told reporters, but he asked for any declaration of independence after the September vote to be delayed by one year so that his ministry can complete preparations.

Minister Abdulsatar Majid called for the “question of the referendum or the phase that comes after it, which is the declaration of independence, to be delayed by one year so that we can execute our duties.”

He reassured the population, however, that Kurdistan has made progress towards reaching self-sufficiency when it comes to food and water. Anti-independence rhetoric from neighbouring countries and memories of previous blockades have fueled fears over their future for many Kurdish citizens.

“People shouldn’t be skeptical because Kurdistan has reached self-sufficiency in most local products,” said Majid, reassuring people about the Region’s food and water security.

The agriculture sector has grown “very well” in recent years, the minister explained.

“We have taken good steps. If the farms we have are assisted and operational, and if their products can be sold, we have more than 100 percent. The same can be said for red meat and eggs. We have also reached self-sufficiency in most fruits and vegetables,” he said. “They are sufficient to sustain us.”

With respect to water, he said that the Kurdistan Region has more water than is needed, “but this water is not distributed in a balanced way.”

Kurdistan’s water resources have made headlines recently after Iran cut off the flow of the cross-border Zei Bchuk River. Turkey also has dam construction projects underway on rivers that feed the Kurdistan Region.

Majid said his ministry has plans to build dams that, if completed, will mean “we won’t be concerned about the pressures of Iran and Turkey, that is if they want to fight us with water.”

An Iranian envoy for trade and economy has reportedly said companies in his country are ready to fill the Kurdistan Region’s food markets. Abdullah Hama Sahid, representative for business affairs for Jalal Talabani, head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), told Rudaw they had met with the Iranian envoy.

Sahid added that the Iranian ministry of trade and economy has met with Kurdistan companies in the past and reassured them Iran does not intend to close its gates with the Kurdistan Region, despite their opposition to the referendum independence, because Kurdistan is a good place for the sale of Iranian products.

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