Farmers in Sulaimani harvest greenhouse cultivated cucumbers

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Farmers in Sulaimani province are harvesting the first cucumbers of the season despite challenges this year.

Farmers wake as early as 4 a.m. during the harvest season to pick the vegetables, so they can be loaded onto trucks in time for the market.

The province’s cucumbers are mainly sold in the southern provinces of Iraq, one farmer and owner of a local greenhouse project told Kurdistan 24.

In addition to cucumbers, Ayoub said he cultivates other vegetables, including bell peppers and aubergine as part of the project. 

From planting to harvest, cucumbers need about 40 nights to grow and ripen, he said.

Produce has been greatly affected by rising temperatures and low rainfall in the Kurdistan Region this year, the farmer said.