Farmers warn of reduced date harvest in Babil as officials dispute pest impact

BABIL — With Iraq’s date harvest season approaching, farmers in Babil governorate are sounding alarms over a potential decline in yields due to pest infestations and delayed pesticide operations, even as agricultural officials express confidence in the region’s output.

Babil is home to more than 4 million date palms spread across 331,000 dunams, but growers say red palm weevils and dubas bugs are now threatening both the quantity and quality of the fruit.

“This season, there’s a noticeable increase in pest infections in Babil’s palm groves,” said orchard owner Murtadha Al-Saidi. “The most serious pests are the red palm weevil and dubas bug, which are now visibly affecting both the quantity and quality of the dates.”

Al-Saidi said the government has not provided pesticides as it once did, and the result will likely be a significant drop in yields. “Because of the infestation—especially the red palm weevil—the harvest will be lower than last year. This pest can destroy up to half the crop.”

Another grower, Ali Obaid, said he expects to harvest half as many dates this season. “This season shows a decline in harvest compared to previous years because of poor pest control and lack of attention from the government to palm farms,” he told 964media. “I used to get 10 tons of dates. This year I’m expecting only 5 tons, maybe even less.”

Obaid added that a pest control campaign launched last week by the Agriculture Directorate came too late to stop the damage. “It should have happened back in April, before the pests established themselves.”

However, Babil Agriculture Director Thamer Al-Khafaji said the situation is improving. “There has been a major improvement in the state of palm trees in Babil in recent years, which has led to increased production,” he said. “Last year, production exceeded 25,000 tons, and we expect a higher yield this season due to monitoring and pest control efforts.”

Al-Khafaji said the directorate is using a mix of aerial spraying, trunk injection, and ground-based treatments to control pest populations, though he did not address specific complaints about delays in the campaign.