Jutyar Khalid, Deputy Director General of Agriculture in Sulaymaniyah, said that this season farmers in the Kurdistan Region have produced enough to meet domestic needs and that the ministry is seeking new markets, with central and southern Iraq being the nearest.

Khalid told Channel8 that they have a memorandum of understanding with the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture and that, to support local farmers, some agricultural imports have been banned while others are subject to taxation.

“Marketing farmers' products in the Kurdistan Region is a good process and can be improved by bringing companies to receive farmers' products and investment in agriculture,” he noted.

Khalid also stated that most cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, melons, and watermelons—especially those from Penjwen—are sent to central and southern Iraq due to high demand.

However, he expressed concern over insufficient support for farmers, saying, “We are trying to raise awareness among farmers to produce one or two types of crops so they do not end up with an oversupply of a single crop that does not sell, but farmers do not comply with the guidelines.”