Harvest Time

Harvest time in Iraq used to mean you hitched up the donkey and guided the plow behind by hand, but the scenes depicted in these archival photos donated by Fr. Bazzi to the Chaldean Cultural Center are not likely to be seen again. Overall, farming in Iraq is declining. Agriculture, which used to account for one-fourth to one-third of Iraq’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), only accounts for about 10 percent currently. The chief crops are barley, wheat, rice, vegetables, corn (maize), millet, sugarcane, sugar beets, oil seeds, fruit, fodder, tobacco, and cotton. Date production (Iraq was once the world’s largest date producer) was severely damaged during the Iran-Iraq War.

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The Chaldean Cultural Center and Museum owns a collection of captivating images from our vibrant community that we are delighted to share with the Chaldean News. If you have photographs that you would like us to incorporate into our archive, kindly reach out to us at info@chaldeanculturalcenter.org or call 248-681-5050.