Producing a delicate fruit such as strawberry in the climate and soil of Kifri district was never believable to greengrocery wholesale traders. However, Dashti Jalal did.
Dashti has been farming since he was eight years old. At first he did not believe that strawberry could be produced in Garmian region until an agricultural expert guided him and he decided to try the experiment.
“We thought it was a very delicate plant that could not withstand the hot climate and heat and our soil would not be suitable for strawberry, but it was not,” he defiantly said.
Jalal, 36, whose father was one of the exemplary farmers in the region, has 50 acres of irrigated and rain-fed land. He started producing strawberry at a cost of 1.5 million Iraqi dinars IQD (USD1,000).
Garmian, April 2025: Strawberry is produced in a plastic house in a village of Kafri. KirkukNow
“It is the first time in our village that strawberry is produced in Kifri and Garmian. I asked an expert and found out that strawberry can withstand temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius until July,” Dashti told KirkukNow. He has planted thousands of strawberry seedlings.
The price of a kilogram of strawberry is 4,000 dinars and more than 70 kilograms are sold each time.
Anwar Abdulaziz, an agricultural engineer, told KirkukNow that strawberry is grown well in Garmian, there are no problems with the soil and climate of Garmian. Earlier, a farmer produced strawberry in a village of Garmina in plastic house but not sustained.
Strawberry is grown in plastic houses and on agricultural land. The former is more successful, can be better controlled and prevent damage, if done scientifically, including the installation of smart irrigation systems, Abdulaziz says.
"I urge people to buy local products because they are cleaner and tastier," he added.
In the same greengrocery Wholesale that previously did not believe in the production of strawberry in Kifri, now there is a high demand on the product of Jalal as there are immediate buyers and higher demand.
“I took the product to the greengrocery wholesale in Kifri and told them it was domestic. They didn't believe me and didn't buy it, but later they knew I was the son of an exemplary farmer.”
Dashti Jalal says the strawberry products of his land has a pleasant taste, color and smell. He plans to expand the project next year.
"We will grow 30,000 strawberry seedlings and market a lot of strawberry.”
