The Iraqi Seed Project tells the story of Iraqi and Kurdish farmers through a collection of 5 short documentary films and this multi-media website, which acts as an educational resource and meeting point to discuss and celebrate the rich agricultural heritage of Mesopotamia.

Until the First Gulf War, agriculture employed 30% of Iraq’s population; today the country cannot feed itself and imports the majority of its food supply. The region’s agricultural history spans thousands of years, but after years of war and sanctions, what is left of this legacy for modern day farmers? As foreign aid and ideologies flood the country amidst the reconstruction, it is important to take a moment and listen to the voice of local farmers; what can we learn from them and their history?

With an aging population, dwindling numbers, and difficulties competing in a global economy, small-scale farmers across the world are experiencing similar hardships. The Iraqi Seed Project starts where agriculture began, but speaks to far reaching issues affecting farmers and farmland worldwide.

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
Emma Piper-Burket

A year and a half ago I was in Tucson, Arizona filming a short video at Native Seeds/SEARCH, a seed-saving organization that protects the rich biodiversity of native crops and plants in the region. Walking into their seed vault, I was instantly captivated by the rows and rows of jars filled with deeply hued beans and kernels. I am a natural born collector; it runs in my genes. Recent years of semi-nomadic life have prevented this part of my nature from outward manifestation; my collections have been relegated to digital images, sounds and video stored on a computer hard drive or two. But seeing the seeds with all of their colors and textures was an instant reminder of what collecting is all about; it’s not just a visual experience. Each of those seeds represents something: one variety of seed can be cultivated and perfected for thousands of years. The seed is the witness to the history of the people that it nourishes; it is a living monument and cultural treasure, but with wars, globalization, cultural invasion and genetic modification this monument is increasingly falling under threat.

I first learned of the destruction of Iraq’s national seed collection in Claire Hope Cummings’ book “Uncertain Peril”; this was a year ago, one week before my first trip to Iraq. At the time I was conducting research for another project, but I managed to spend a few days of my visit on farms and speaking with officials at the Kurdish Ministry of Agriculture. On the plane home I came across an article about the dire state of Iraq’s farmland and the idea for The Iraqi Seed Project began to germinate. News coverage of Iraqi agriculture is surprisingly sparse. Over the past several months I have pored over historical documents, government tables, surveys, and ancient texts; been in touch with historians, the USDA- who have a major presence in Iraq, scholars, farmers, and NGOs trying to piece together a cohesive portrait of what has become of agriculture in Iraq.

This website is here as a growing resource to share the stories and histories of Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan’s farmers. I invite you, and ask you, to join us in creating a new seed collection for Iraq- one that honors and preserves the country’s agricultural legacy and gives a global platform to the voices of its farmers. It will be fun.