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Celebrating the return of the date

Residents of Baqubah celebrated a local staple on Monday - a "date festival" placed the town's focus on a banner harvest from the area's date palm trees.

Situated alongside a river in Diyala province, northeast of Baghdad, Baqubah has for centuries been a center of agriculture and commerce. Though rich in oranges, too, the area's date palms make up a critical piece of the local livelihood. It is, however, a crop that has been suffering for years.

Under Saddam Hussein, agriculture often fell victim to lack of funding for irrigation and pesticide treatment. More damaging still, regime offensives would at times destroy the very land required to raise the crops.

Coalition efforts have sought to restore date production. Recent crop-spraying programs were the first in years. Reconstruction officials hope the revival of the industry might not only maintain a historic livelihood for farmers, but reinvigorate the local economy.

"My sons now are the ones now doing all the hard work," one farmer joked. "They're taking care of the palm trees, they're cleaning the crops ... so they're the actual farmers."

Beyond the potential economic boost, the resurrection of the date palm industry keeps alive an important historical element of Iraqi culture. Dates have been raised for thousands of years in Iraq; over 140 types are grown. In the upcoming celebration of Ramadan, Iraqi Muslims traditionally break their daily fast with dates.

While progress is gradual, the steps taken so far to bring the date palm industry back online are crucial to the economic revitalization of areas like Baqubah. And with economic stability comes security. For farmers and exhibitors on Monday, that was a reason to celebrate.

Source: Multi-National Force-Iraq