Harvest by Headlamp: Taq Taq's Race Against Dawn to Deliver Prized Figs

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — In the quiet pre-dawn hours across the Taq Taq sub-district, while most citizens are sound asleep, a dedicated community of fig farmers and their workers are wide awake, their headlamps cutting through the darkness. 

This nightly ritual is not a matter of choice but a crucial race against the rising sun, a demanding but essential practice to ensure that Taq Taq's renowned figs reach markets across the Kurdistan Region and Iraq in their freshest and most valuable state.

The delicate nature of the fruit dictates this unusual schedule, forcing the harvest into the cool, dark hours between midnight and dawn. Equipped with headlamps to illuminate their work and gloves to protect their hands, these farmers and laborers move through the orchards with a practiced urgency.

The primary motivation is to shield their valuable produce from the damaging effects of heat and direct sunlight, which can quickly spoil the figs and render them worthless. Wahab Mohammed, one of the local farmers, explained the critical necessity of their timing.

"We come here at four or four-thirty in the morning," he said. "If our work is delayed and exposed to the sun, the figs will spoil and won't be worth anything, so we are forced to work at this time."

This nocturnal harvest operates on a strict and unforgiving deadline. The entire day's yield must be picked and transported to the Taq Taq wholesale market, known locally as the alwa, before 5:00 AM. 

There, buyers are already waiting, ready to load the fresh figs and begin their own race to distribute them to cities and towns throughout the Kurdistan Region and as far as central and southern Iraq, where the produce is in high demand.

This tight logistical chain, from the dark orchard to the distant consumer, hinges entirely on the success of the midnight harvest.

However, this vital work comes at a significant human cost. Harvesting figs in the dark is a physically and mentally taxing ordeal that goes far beyond simple farm labor.

In addition to the profound exhaustion and the disruption of a normal sleep cycle, the workers must contend with the ever-present danger of snakes and other harmful creatures that are active during the night.

The fear is palpable among those toiling in the fields.

Newroz Mohammed, one of the female workers, painted a vivid picture of the grueling conditions, mentioning that she had been working since the afternoon and still had not slept. "We are sleep-deprived and tired," she stated, "but most of all, we are afraid of snakes."

This sentiment of enduring hardship for the sake of a livelihood was echoed by another female worker, Chiman Mohammed. She noted that while the work is difficult, they are compelled to do it.

"Working at night is unpleasant," she said, "but if we do it during the day, it's useless." Her words capture the difficult trade-off faced by the community: accepting the challenges and dangers of the night is the only way to secure the economic benefits of a successful harvest.

The industry they support is a significant one for the region. The Taq Taq sub-district is a major agricultural hub, producing thousands of tons of high-quality figs annually. 

The season commences in May with the "Baqo" variety, a first-of-the-season crop, followed by other types of figs that ripen and are ready for harvest later in July.

The reputation of Taq Taq's figs ensures their popularity far beyond local markets, making this nocturnal effort a key contributor to the regional economy. In a move to support this vital local industry and protect the livelihoods of farmers like Wahab and workers like Newroz and Chiman, the Kurdistan Regional Government’s Ministry of Agriculture has implemented a key policy, banning the importation of figs to bolster domestic producers.

Kurdistan24's correspondent Aras Amin contributed to this report.