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Agriculture: The undermined and mismanaged
sector of Kurdistan's economy
11.8.2008
By Rauf Naqishbendi
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August 11, 2008
Agriculture is a crucial sector of any economy,
significantly important to the lifeline of any
nation. Similarly, one of the oldest and noblest
professions known to man is farming, the means by
which food is created to sustain people and their
livestock. Historically, farming has provided a
livelihood for the majority of individuals, and many
industries continue to depend on farming. During
prolonged times of war, successful farm enterprise
can be an issue of national security. Even in
today´s world, with the ease of international
transportation, nations strive to be self-sufficient
by producing enough food for domestic consumption.
In modern days, science and technology create
experimental trials to pursue better seeding,
cultivation, land fertility, product preservation,
refrigeration, and packaging. In most countries,
subsidies and incentives are provided to maintain
this crucial sector of economy. |
Rauf Naqishbendi |
In the United States the
government provides financial and technological
assistance to encourage farmers to grow certain
crops, so those crops will not be lacking while
others are overproduced. By studying the need and
consumption, government subsidies to farmers can
balance production and encourage compliance.
Agriculture, like any other aspect of life, need to
be nourished and cared for. Yet, in Kurdistan
farming has becoming the poor man´s profession and
is disregarded by leadership. Construction is now
the emphasis, not because it is crucial but because
the bigger the business, the wider the opportunity
for leadership and its cronies to receive greater
kickbacks. As a result, the agriculture sector of
the economy has remained unregulated and undermined.
Kurdistan is an agrarian country. For thousands of
year people farmed to feed themselves and raise
their cattle. Kurdistan is a country with vast
landscapes and wilderness to raise cattle, has an
abundance of water, and is one of the most fertile
lands in the world. There is no excuse, therefore,
for Kurds to import food or produce. Nowadays, most
of the food and produce consumed in Kurdistan finds
its way from Iran and Turkey. This is as ridiculous
as it can be, because almost anything grown in
Turkey or Iran could be raised in Kurdistan.
Farming in general is not profitable unless the
farmer has a vast piece of property. Decades ago in
Kurdistan there was a distribution of land resulting
in each farmer having a small farm, barely enough to
make a good living. Most recently, with the boom in
construction, many farmers have migrated to rural
areas seeking better living conditions.
Cities and towns across Kurdistan are experiencing
shortages of fresh milk and dairy products,
particularly butter and cheese. Almost all of these
products are imported. Dairy at an affordable price
is required to build a healthy nation, particularly
to provide for the healthy growth of children. As it
stands, few farmers can produce enough dairy
products to feed their own family; therefore, they
exchange the little they produce for money to cover
their needs.
There is a lack of dairy farms in Kurdistan, the
dairy industry being comprised of small farmers with
limited output. Kurdistan has a dire need for farms
to produce dairy products in quantities that meet
the population's demand. Natural and human resources
to support dairy farms are available. Several
universities in Kurdistan have adequate expertise to
design, plan,www.ekurd.netand
support this industry with minimum foreign help.
Should this industry, for profitability´s sake,
become unfeasible, and entrepreneurs disinclined to
invest, it is imperative that the government offer
subsidies or incentives to engage the private sector
or for the government to take over.
Another problem is the occasional shortage of water.
Most of the time Kurdistan enjoys a good amount of
rainfall and snowfall, most of which is absorbed by
the dirt without material benefit. Even so, bottles
of water are imported from Iran and Turkey .
Shortages of water can be severe during years when
there isn´t enough rain. However, the water supply
could easily be balanced through the creation of
dams. Building dams in Kurdistan is crucial as it
would ease access to water for drinking and farming
during times of shortage. There are two main dams in
in Kurdistan : Darbandykhan and Dwkan. Both of these
dams were originally constructed to help Arabs in
the south. Their benefit to the Kurdish region is
not only minimal,www.ekurd.net
but the dams also cover
vast areas of the most fertile lands.
Kurdistan has been neglected for a long time,
resulting in a cumulative need for work in every
sector of the economy. The challenges are plenty and
the opportunities are great; yet the needs are
copious and some are urgent. This is a test for
leadership as how they will prioritize needs and
assign resources to the tasks on hand to yield
satisfactory outcomes. Kurdish leadership knows they
need advisors and consultations, but their egos
render them infallible in their illusionary minds,
thus hindering the necessary teamwork to propel the
nation forward.
In view of the aforementioned needs of the nation,
especially the need to create a healthier society
and better economy, Kurdish leaders have misplaced
their priorities. They have gone out of their way to
create recreation centers such as luxury hotels and
golf courses and glamorous shopping malls in Irbil ,
while there is shortage of clean drinking water and
fresh milk. The only people who can use these
extravagant accommodations are the family members
and cronies of leadership. Kurdish leaders are hard
at work to accommodate moneyed people while ignoring
the needs of the masses, most of whom are poor. The
substandard living conditions endured by villagers
in Kurdistan are disheartening. They lack proper
healthcare, education, and clean drinking water, as
well as poor transportation.
Suffice it to say, benevolent attention by Kurdish
leaders is the greater need of the general public.
The nobility of any leadership is measured by their
determination and success in lifting the poor of the
nation from their financial hardships and providing
adequate planning to warrant the well-being of the
masses. Rest assured, Kurdish leaders are governing
without any plan for their people, but instead are
acting with well-managed corruption to feed into
their greed.
Rauf Naqishbendi is a contributing columnist for
Kurdish Websites, American Chronicle and has written
Op/Ed pages for the Los Angeles Times. He has just
completed his memoirs entitled "The Garden Of The
Poets" which reads as a novel depicting his
experience and the subsequent 1988 bombing of his
hometown with chemical and biological weapons by
Saddam Hussein. It is the story of his people's
suffering. Rauf Naqishbendi is a software engineer
in San Francisco Bay Area.
The contents of this article reflect the author's
personal opinions, and we accept no responsibility
for the views or opinions expressed in the articles
either direct or indirect.
Copyright, respective author or news agency,
americanchronicle.com
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