The local grape varieties top the festival's sections, featuring types well-known in Duhok Governorate, including black, Kamali, Tawfiqi, Roshmeri, and Zark. The governorate is distinguished by a significant diversity in grape cultivation, with more than 100 varieties planted over vast areas exceeding 39,000 dunams, especially in the Manikesh and Zawita regions, which are among the prominent grape production areas in the governorate.
Honey Production Revival
The production of natural honey in Duhok has seen a remarkable revival during the current season, driven by abundant rainfall in the spring, which provided a suitable environment for bee activity and a variety of vegetation, leading to an increase in the governorate's honey production to about 300 tons, compared to about 100 tons during the previous season.
Honey production is characterized by its diverse flavors, resulting from extraction from herbs and mountain flowers that are famous in Duhok Governorate.
In the grape sector, Dr. Amjad Ubaid, the director of the Horticulture Department, confirmed that the statistics from the Duhok Agriculture Directorate recorded a significant increase in production compared to the previous season, amounting to about 20,000 tons, bringing total production to nearly 80,000 tons, thereby enhancing the governorate's position in grape and vineyard production in the Kurdistan Region.
The festival is held in the context of an ongoing policy to prevent the import of grapes from abroad during the harvest season, aimed at protecting local products and providing better marketing opportunities for farmers. This grants the festival economic significance alongside its agricultural role, as it serves as a direct window to showcase, sell, and market crops to visitors and consumers.
An Introductory Opportunity
Participants affirmed that the festival represents an opportunity to highlight the quality of local agricultural products and encourage consumers to purchase them, as well as being a platform for exchanging experiences among farmers and beekeepers and learning about modern methods to develop production and improve its quality.
With increasing production and the diversity of displayed varieties, the Grape and Honey Festival in Duhok continues to establish its presence as an event that combines agricultural activity and marketing for local products, in an attempt to open wider horizons for farmers and beekeepers and enhance the presence of their products in local markets.