ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has allocated a budget for the agricultural sector two years after cutting funds because of the financial crisis.

Sulaimani has plans for the 8 billion dinars ($6.7 million) it expects to receive within the next few months. The province will funnel the money into eight projects.

Some of the funds will go into buying products like fertilizers and pesticides, and helping plant nurseries and fisheries.

Studies into water, forests, and animal health will also benefit, with plans to spend the money as soon as it comes in.

"A sum, about 85 million dinars ($71,000), has been prepared to buy laboratory devices and necessities to diagnose viral animal and bird illnesses," Ari Salahaddin Marouf of Sulaimani’s agriculture directorate told Rudaw.

Another 415 million dinars ($349,000) has been allocated for acquiring vaccines and medicine "to undertake the essential vaccination campaigns for animals and birds" in Sulaimani to prevent viral animal illnesses spreading to humans.

Between 2015 and 2017, the Council of Ministers did not release any funds for the agriculture sectors because of the crippling financial crisis.

The economic situation in the Kurdistan Region has improved in 2018 after Baghdad began sending funds to pay public sector salaries and oil prices started to rise.

During the financial crisis, the government consistently said that it would diversify the economy in order to better weather fluctuating oil prices and the possibility of prolonged budget cuts from Baghdad.

Despite the crunch on Kurdistan Region’s farmers, the amount of produce grown in the Region has increased.

Rudaw