Farmworkers return for eighth season tending date palms in Balad

BALAD — Two farmworkers from Karbala have returned to Salah al-Din’s Balad district for the eighth consecutive year, continuing a seasonal routine of tending date orchards that runs from March through October.

Ahmed and his friend Ali began working in Balad in 2017, traveling each spring to oversee the start of the pollination season. “I am Ahmed from Karbala. I’ve been working in a palm grove belonging to the Ahmad al-Abbas family in Balad since 2017,” Ahmed told 964media. “Our task is to manage palm care — including pollination, pruning, and pest and disease control.”

The pair live on-site throughout the season and say they’ve formed deep connections with the community. “Balad is a peaceful town, and we feel like we’re breathing the scent of Karbala here,” Ahmed said. “After earning the trust of the orchard owners, they gave us the keys to the farm and chose us to work here permanently.”

Ali, who shares responsibilities and profits with Ahmed, described the arrangement. “I work with Ahmed in this grove, and we agreed with the owner to split the harvest fifty-fifty during the date-picking season,” he said.

Each palm requires roughly 30 minutes to prepare, and the work includes monitoring for disease. “Some diseases affected the palms, like the red palm weevil, but continuous treatment helped eliminate them,” Ali said.

The orchard owners provide a house for the workers during the harvest season. Though the pair occasionally return to Karbala between pest control phases, they continue their work despite high temperatures and long days under the sun.