Iraq/Kurdistan: Pomegranates, Not Oil, the Star of Iraqi Kurdistan’s Rebirth

Oct 4, 2014 | Hugh Naylor, The National
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HALABJA, IRAQ - For Shakhawan Mohammed the future of Iraqi Kurdistan lies not in oil but in pomegranates.

Mr Mohammed cultivates a dozen varieties of the fruit in his orchards in Halabja, a town better known for being bombarded by Saddam Hussein’s chemical weapons during the 1980s than agriculture production.

Nearly three decades after the attacks, many Kurds, including Mr Mohammed, 40, a father of five, believe the pomegranates that he and other farmers in Halabja cultivate are the best in the world – and he wants to export them to the health food-obsessed markets of Europe and beyond.