Ammar Aziz- Nineveh

Heavy rain and hailstorm damaged 120 farmers’ wheat crops in Sinjar, while the crops were in their final stage of growth.

Last week, heavy rains and hailstorms significantly damaged wheat crops planted on six thousands and 400 donums (each donum is 2,500 square meters) area of agricultural lands in Sinjar.

“This years I planted 600 donums with wheat, but the hailstorm destroyed our efforts and works, we lost 15 million Iraqi dinars (12,500 US dollars),” said, Yusuf Chuko.

He added that a committee is measuring the loss and they are waiting for compensations, adding that, otherwise, they would be unable to continue farming.

Sinjar district is located 120 km in the western Mousl city and is under the jurisdiction of Nineveh province.

Amin Hussein, a farmer in Sinjar, explained that he had never seen such hailstorm before, that damaged 350 donums of agriculture lands.

“I did not benefit from my products, I lost five million Iraqi dinars (4,000 US dollars), it is a natural disaster, but the government should compensate us,” Hussein told KirkukNow.

Last year, farmers in Nineveh, including Sinjar district, lost much of their wheat crops due to mysterious crop fires across Iraq during summer.

Barakat Issa, head of the planting office in Snoni sub-district in Sinjar, said that, “I do not think the farmers will be compensated because they have not been compensated for the crop fires of last years, which included two thousand donums of agricultural lands.”

Issa claimed that the this years’ heavy rainfall and hailstorm have damaged more than six thousand and 400 donums of crops, while the crops were in the final stages of growth.

“This year’s efforts of farmers to grow wheat crops were lost, we have formed a committee for compensations and have estimated the amount of the loss.”

Issa called upon the agriculture directorate in Nineveh allocate money to compensate the farmers, so that they will be able to grow wheat crops once more.