KRG, Iraq agricultural ministries form committee for strategic cooperation to advance sector

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A delegation led by the Kurdistan Region’s Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources, Begard Talabani, met on Sunday with an Iraqi counterpart in Baghdad to discuss a range of files including the compensation of Kurdish farmers for grain delivered to the central government.

The Iraqi ministry said in a statement that Minister of Agriculture Saleh al-Hassani received Talabani, with an accompanying delegation made up of other senior Kurdish officials, including Minister Khalid Shwani.

The statement added that the meeting discussed several files related to developing future strategic plans in light of the recent successes in raising production levels of various crops. The development comes amid ongoing improvements in relations between Baghdad and Erbil following a near-total breakdown in late 2017.

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Hassani stressed that his side would continue working with the Kurdistan Region to equip farmers with tools needed for efficient production and to compensate them for owed dues. He also called on Erbil “not to grant licenses to poultry importers in the region to ensure that they are not sent to other provinces.”

As per the statement, Talabani had delivered her Iraqi counterpart the draft contract of a deal on cooperation and a report on outstanding issues, including compensation packages yet to be rewarded to the region’s wheat farmers for the past few years.

The Kurdish minister also called for needed support for the region’s agricultural sector and aid to farmers to, among others, obtain top-of-the-line seeds. She also noted the need for amendments to relevant legislation that allow effective work in line with modern developments in the field as well as output levels.

From his end, the ministerial advisor working with the Iraqi side, Mahdi al-Qaisi, said there should be joint committees in various fields to control imports and monitor other related activities in the agricultural industry.

The meeting concluded with the formation of a unified higher committee between the two sides that would lay down strategic foundations for agricultural cooperation. The committee would facilitate the modernization of the agricultural sector, and communication with other ministries to compensate farmers for crops delivered to the government.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany