Shafaq News- Duhok

Farmers and beekeepers in Zakho, in Duhok province, on Monday opened the fourth edition of a festival celebrating pomegranates and local produce, hoping to win new buyers at home and abroad.

Growers from across the Zakho area laid out red and yellow pomegranates and fresh juice, while beekeepers offered visitors tastes of their honey.

The event aims to show off the quality of the area's crops, bring farmers, residents and officials together, and open new markets for fruit and honey, Faris Youhanna, first deputy head of the Zakho Independent Administration, told Shafaq News. Some 15 to 17 farmers and 23 honey producers took part.

Backing agriculture is part of the Kurdistan Regional Government's push to diversify income away from oil, boost local production and attract tourists, Youhanna said.

Beekeeper Kovan Lezgin said the festival gives local producers a chance to introduce the area's natural honey to consumers across the Kurdistan Region, Iraq and international markets, adding that producers take pride in offering pure, high-quality honey.

For Mahdi Nimat, a pomegranate grower from the Goli area, each harvest reflects the care farmers give their land, and festivals like this one help bring it to buyers.

Farmer Tahmad Issa, from the village of Zrizi, also praised the distinctive taste of his village's pomegranates, saying the event lets visitors sample different varieties and their juice.

Read more: Discover Iraq: Duhok —haven and hardship in Iraqi Kurdistan's frontier