DUHOK, Kurdistan Region - There are nearly a million olive trees in Duhok, with farmers and investors planning to plant more trees in the province.
Idris Mohammed is a skilled olive farmer. He fled his hometown of Afrin in northwest Syria after it fell under the control of Turkey and Syrian militants is supports in 2018. He is helping locals in Duhok to improve olive farming.
He told Rudaw that there are efforts to increase the number of olive trees in Duhok.
"Some are Spanish, some are Bashiqi, and others are Turkish. There are many varieties, all mixed together in a single orchard. When picking olives from it, you'll often notice that different parts of the olives ripen at varying times. We know some farm owners who wish to expand their orchards and plant more trees.
Fars Kochar, a Duhok investor, has planted 50,000 olive trees over an area of 200 dunams in the last 12 years. He also plans to double the number of trees and increase the cultivation of the Cornicabra olive variety, which is renowned for its high olive oil yield.
"I plan to increase it to 100,000 trees and establish an olive oil factory. From these olives we've planted, we have 100 tons of olives that we give to traders who turn them into olive oil for Duhok citizens. There is a lot of demand for it, you know, because it's very beneficial for health," he told Rudaw.
The government, along with the private sector in Duhok, is working to make Duhok the leading olive producer in the Kurdistan Region.
According to Jamil’s office, there are approximately 900,000 olive trees in Duhok province.
The annual production capacity is 34 tons of olives.
