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Model farm established in Alqosh, Iraq
Climate change and environmental degradation exacerbate the effects of poverty and marginalisation, making Iraq’s most vulnerable even more vulnerable. Hungarian Interchurch Aid (HIA) focuses on increasing climate resilience as a cross-cutting issue, placing particular emphasis on introducing regenerative agriculture, agroecology and permaculture approaches within our livelihood sector support. To this end, Hungarian Interchurch Aid has established an agricultural training centre and demonstration farm in Alqosh. The project is funded by Hungary Helps.
Once called ‘Fertile Crescent’, in the latest years Iraq suffers from acute water shortages, which is one of the main factor in the desertification of the country. With a growing population to support, Iraq is in desperate need of climate resilient agricultural methods that provide solutions to its current challenges. Regenerative agricultural methods, such as permaculture design are a natural fit for these: it is the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems which have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems. The method provides a harmonious integration of landscape and people — providing their food, energy, shelter, and other material and non-material needs in a sustainable way.
The model farm in Alqosh has several elements, all supporting each other: growing tunnels protecting vegetable-producing plants from the sun, an aquatic system [chinampa], irrigation, housing for poultry, compost to fertilise, a solar panel system to provide necessary electricity for the whole farm and many more. These elements provide basis for the permaculture training course for local beneficiaries through the help of expert advisors. In addition to operating as a training site, the demonstration farm also aims to provide a long-term source of income for the locals. Subsequently, through the advanced production techniques and the processing industries to be established this project hopes to create livelihoods for the community of Alqosh.
The ten-day, intensive theoretical and practical course addressed the deep-rooted, persistent problems – such as water scarcity, desertification, land depletion and lack of jobs. In total, 52 farmers from Nineveh governorate have finished the training, which was supplemented with the distribution of agricultural equipment (movable chicken coops for fertilisation, small aquatic system for animals and plants, beehives, plant nurseries, compost & fertiliser making programme, shared well) to enable them to apply the advanced farming techniques learned during the course.