Economy

All wheat from Kurdish farmers was received in silos on PM Barzani's order: KRG spox

"Previously, Baghdad received 200,000 tons of wheat. Thanks to PM Barzani's efforts, this amount was increased to 500,000 tons," the KRG spokesperson added.

Kurdistan 24 2023/07/16 22:52

KRG Spokesperson Peshawa Hawramani speaking at the press conference, July 16, 2023. (Photo: Kurdistan 24)

Kurdistan Masrour Barzani Peshawa Hawramani Wheat silos Water Crisis

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Spokesperson Peshawa Hawramani on Sunday held a press conference, touching upon various pressing issues in the Kurdistan Region.

Regarding the issue of Kurdistan Region farmers' wheat, a KRG spokesperson stated that all wheat from Kurdistan Region farmers was received in the silos on the order of Prime Minister Masrour Barzani.

"Previously, Baghdad received 200,000 tons of wheat. Thanks to PM Barzani's efforts, this amount was increased to 500,000 tons," the KRG spokesperson added.

Moreover, Hawramani reiterated that the KRG has fulfilled all its obligations to the Iraqi government.

“Previously, 83 percent of oil revenues were allocated to salaries, while the rest relied on domestic revenues. We don’t have this 83 percent of oil revenues. We only rely on domestic revenues now,” he stated.

Concerning the water crisis, this top KRG official confirmed that PM Barzani is very concerned about the water crisis, and he has worked tirelessly to formulate long-term solutions.

"A large number of ponds have been built to recycle water, and several large dams are nearing completion,” he revealed.

The KRG has built several dams and ponds to address the water crisis. Moreover, the KRG has touted that more of these water conservation projects will be built in the future.

So far, 118 ponds have been built in the Kurdistan Region on an area of about 479,000 acres with a capacity of 22.6 million cubic meters of water. The costs associated with construction reached $22 million dollars.

Previously on July 7, the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources announced that four new dams were constructed in the Kurdistan Region in 2023.

Also in July, Kurdish officials visited Saudi Arabia with a proposal for a water treatment plant, dubbed the Ifraz 3 Project, which would hypothetically source water from the Great Zab River to the capital’s residents. Kurdish officials seek to take a "loan” from the Saudi government to implement the project, which upon its completion, will provide 25,000 cubic meters of fresh water to the capital.

According to the Ninth Cabinet of the KRG, the main purposes of water conservation projects are to protect water resources, collect water for the agriculture and tourism sectors, support farmers, provide job opportunities, prevent flash floods, and increase groundwater.