Begard Talabani, Minister of Agriculture & Water Resources, on the agricultural potential of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), and the opportunities for foreign players in the KRI’s agriculture industry.
How would you define the agricultural potential of the KRI?
Kurdistan has significant untapped agricultural potential that needs to be explored before it can be fulfilled. The KRI has many advantages in terms of fertile land, suitable climate, and water resources that allow us to produce high-quality products throughout the year. Considering its potential, the agriculture industry will bring many advantages to our economy and could become a leading source of income for the KRI in the long term. Therefore, I believe Kurdistan’s agriculture industry is as important as its oil and gas industry, given our objective of sustainable economic development.
I believe Kurdistan’s agriculture industry is as important as its oil and gas industry, given our objective of sustainable economic development.
Begard Talabani, Minister of Agriculture & Water Resources
What policy priorities will boost the KRI’s agriculture sector in 2020?
We have entered a new stage of agricultural reform. In an effort to deepen this reform and expand agricultural production, the regional government has named agriculture as one of the most important sectors in its economic diversification plans for the coming four years. Today Kurdistan is dependent on agricultural imports, but our aim is to change this. Food security has been placed at the top of our agenda and we aim to achieve self-sufficiency in the long run.
We want to go from the current agricultural system to a precision one. We plan to introduce high-quality inputs to every segment. We will also increase the technical capabilities of our farmers to enable them to produce better quality output that we can then export. The main objectives are to increase production to support food self-sufficiency and boost exports, while creating jobs and contributing to the development of remote rural areas.
We want to go from the current agricultural system to a precision one. We plan to introduce high-quality inputs to every segment. We will also increase the technical capabilities of our farmers to enable them to produce better quality output that we can then export.
Begard Talabani, Minister of Agriculture & Water Resources
What are the opportunities for foreign players in the KRI’s agriculture industry?
Modernizing the agriculture sector and promoting private investment are also two of our priorities. We plan to create public-private partnerships to increase our production and improve the quality of our agricultural products. To reach the goal improving productivity, we are teaming up with researchers from foreign countries and we are open to collaboration with international organizations that can help us improve our agriculture sector.
