Closing borders due to COVID-19 revives Iraqi agriculture

Iraq's agriculture sector has been revived in the past few months, after the government closed its borders and banned the import of agricultural produce as a preventive measure against the coronavirus outbreak.
Iraqis, some wearing a protective mask amid the COVID-19 pandemic, buy fresh produce from a street seller at a market in Karrada, in the capital Baghdad, on July 14, 2020. - Iraq, in a bid to prevent the spread of the deadly COVID-19 illness, shut its 32 border crossings to goods and people coming from Iran, Turkey, Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia in mid-March, which helped its agriculture ministry accelerate a campaign to make Iraqi food markets self-sustainable, after years of relying on foreign imports fo
Iraqis, some wearing a protective mask amid the coronavirus pandemic, buy fresh produce from a street seller at a market in Karrada, in the capital Baghdad, Iraq, July 14, 2020. - AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images
Mustafa_Saadoun.jpg
Mustafa Saadoun
@SaadoonMustafa

Closing the Iraqi borders due to preemptive measures against the coronavirus has helped revive Iraq's agriculture sector and expand the work of Iraqi farmers who have increased their production to supply the Iraqi market, which had been relying on imports for 17 years.

Production has been so great that Agriculture Minister Mohammad al-Khafaji announced July 13, “a demand to export tomatoes, eggplants and potatoes at a quantity of 500 tons per crop. Several countries want Iraqi agricultural products, including meat.”

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