Shafaq News- Kirkuk

A fig festival opened in Kirkuk’s Qarahanjir district on Thursday, bringing together growers from the province and the Kurdistan Region to showcase a crop deeply associated with the area and explore new opportunities for marketing and rural tourism.

The festival features varieties of locally grown figs alongside other agricultural products, handicrafts and traditional foods, as organizers seek to connect the area's farming heritage with new sources of income for rural communities.

“Qarahanjir has historically been associated with figs. The name itself means ‘black fig,’ reflecting the crop’s longstanding place in the area,” festival supervisor Nizar Rashid told Shafaq News.

For many local families, figs are more than a seasonal crop. During harvest, growers pick, sort and sell the fruit in local markets, while some of the produce is dried or processed at home.

Farmer Hassan Jabari said the event gives growers an opportunity to introduce visitors to Qarahanjir’s figs while finding new outlets for their harvest.

“Supporting agricultural production is not limited to providing farming supplies,” he added. “It also means creating markets and marketing opportunities that help farmers continue producing.”

Participant Shakur Abdullah described the festival as the first of its kind in the area and hoped it would become an annual event drawing farmers and visitors from elsewhere in Iraq.

The festival runs for three days, with organizers hoping it can eventually develop beyond a seasonal celebration into an annual event linking agriculture with tourism and providing local producers with greater access to consumers.