Duhok hosts third Local Production Festival

Shafaq News – Duhok

The third edition of the Local Production Festival opened on Friday in Kani Masi, a subdistrict of the Barwari Bala region bordering Turkiye, with more than 200 farmers from across Duhok province taking part.

Thousands of residents and visitors attended the event, which will run for five consecutive days. The festival features photography exhibitions, artistic performances, and cultural activities, including traditional Kurdish dances and musical evenings with 13 artists from the Kurdistan Region, Turkiye, Iran, Syria, and several European countries.

Fahmi Baley, head of the organizing committee, told Shafaq News that the festival aims to “encourage farmers to remain in their villages, continue cultivating their lands, and promote the local products that define the region.” He added that it also seeks to “open new marketing channels through private sector investment while allowing farmers to sell their products directly to visitors.”

Farmers participating in the exhibition present a diverse selection of agricultural and food products, including the apples that have made Barwari Bala renowned, as well as natural honey, dried fruits, and traditional sweets.

Ahmed Mai, one of the participants, noted that his goal in joining the festival was to display and sell his local produce to a broader audience. He shows four varieties of apples grown in Barwari Bala’s orchards — green, Lebanese, American, and yellow — adding that “events like this give farmers strong motivation to continue producing and improving.”

Visitor Sarbest Mohammed described the festival as a reflection of the region’s natural beauty and the richness of its local production, praising the quality of the exhibits and the organization of the event. He noted that such activities “help boost domestic tourism and highlight Barwari Bala’s agricultural and cultural heritage.”