ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – A controversial proposal by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani that Tehran should lease agricultural land in other countries as a way to get around the country’s own water shortage has angered many Kurds who live on farming.

“What benefits us most: having national products or farm outside our borders?” Rouhani told members of his cabinet. “Let’s lease land in another country which has more and cheaper water. This is for those products which require more water. We can plant them there and bring them back home.”

Rouhani said that they had many options and countries to choose from for this purpose.
Kurdish farmers are facing water scarcity, too, but they believe if the president’s plan goes through they will be completely put out of business.

“This means loss for us because farming abroad means we will be out of business at home,” Jalal Pourghasem, a Kurdish farmer, said. “The agriculture sector in Iran is already a failure because of lack of exports.”
Iraj Hikmati, another Kurdish farmer suggests that instead of leasing land outside Iran Rouhani pays more attention to his own farmers.

Kamaran Nouri, a Kurdish farmer said that the president could do whatever he wants, but such a move “Will be a slap on national agriculture,”

“This means that half of our farmers will be jobless.” Nouri warned.

Rudaw