Nineveh launches wheat harvest with 600,000-ton production target

NINEVEH — Nineveh’s Agriculture Directorate announced Monday the start of the wheat harvest campaign in the governorate’s irrigated areas, with production expected to reach 600,000 tons this season.

Abdullah Saeed Hammo, acting director of Nineveh Agriculture, told the Iraqi News Agency that rain-fed areas cultivated outside the official agricultural plan are being surveyed and documented before their data is submitted to relevant authorities. He said he hoped the Ministries of Agriculture and Trade would approve the purchase of crops grown outside the plan.

Farmers described conditions as favorable. Muneef al-Shammari said harvesting had started across several areas and production was good, while Fadel Faris said strong yields were expected in both irrigated and rain-fed areas and that crop quality would contribute to domestic production and food security.

Iraq’s wheat sector relies on a state procurement system in which the government purchases crops at fixed prices to secure domestic supply and support agricultural incomes. The policy has helped achieve self-sufficiency in recent seasons but has placed pressure on public finances, with procurement prices often set above global market levels and large harvests creating storage and payment challenges. In 2025, the Ministry of Trade purchased more than 5.1 million tons, contributing to a strategic reserve of around 6.5 million tons, sufficient to cover domestic consumption for more than a year.

The ministry completed technical, administrative and logistical preparations</a> for the 2026 procurement season in mid-April, introducing a pre-booking system for trucks to reduce silo congestion.