Hindi Al-Hindi: Our local production of Tain Jasem and Barhi dates is distinguished
The Farmers’ Union is now operating with transparency, honesty, and clarity.
The innovative farmer Haneedi Al-Haneedi considers the Kuwaiti fig (Jasam fig) to possess outstanding qualities and superior features not found in other fig varieties. Its production is abundant, its taste delicious, and its shelf life long. It is eaten with its thin skin alongside Arabic coffee. Externally, it has a shimmering yellow hue, while internally it is a vibrant red. It is also resistant to pests due to its adaptation to the specific Kuwaiti environment.
Its abundant production begins in June and continues through January, the month of Al-Murabania (the cold season). Harvesting can be done from its lush green trees every week for approximately three months, provided they are cultivated in cooled greenhouses and agricultural complexes and irrigated with fresh water.
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The farmer Haneedi, who has been producing and diversifying crops in the Abdali agricultural area for many years, maintains a continuous supply of vegetables and fruits, both in open fields and under protected cultivation. His farm also includes a nursery for ornamental plants, particularly desert and spring flora in the Kuwaiti desert, as well as extensive enclosures for rearing gazelles, sheep, and goats, and breeding birds of all types and colors. Additionally, he pays special attention to camel breeding in the desert.
Returning to the topic, farmer Haneedi Al-Haneedi explains that he and many of his fellow Abdali farmers now rely on their own efforts to market large quantities of their products through their own initiatives, via seasonal agricultural markets and festivals in Abdali, and at the Livestock Hall in Al-Rayy, particularly for fruits. His most prominent crops include figs, bananas, papayas, various citrus fruits, mangoes, peaches, apricots, and guavas.
As farmers, they are keen to deal directly with consumers without intermediaries who might cheat on quantity or quality or inflate prices.
Although this direct sales approach adopted by him and his colleagues in marketing their agricultural products deprives them of the government cash subsidies allocated for the sale of fruits and vegetables through the Shabarat Al-Farida, Wafir Company in Salwa, or the Farmers’ Union Shabarat in Al-Aridiya.
Figs and fresh dates are summer crops.
He stated that his main focus during the summer months is the production of figs and fresh dates, emphasizing that the delicious golden-yellow Barhi variety reigns supreme in Kuwait, the Gulf region, and the Arab and Islamic worlds, particularly when marketed in its first stage as “Lahm” (firm dates) and its second stage as “Rutab” (soft dates), since Barhi does not produce compressed dried dates.
He explained how he prepared himself to market figs and fresh dates on a wide commercial scale by storing them in refrigerators and transporting them in cooled trucks to ensure they reach consumers fresh and juicy.
He noted that harvesting Barhi is done one fruit at a time from the “Athq” (date clusters) by dozens of agricultural workers, because the ripening of fruits within a single cluster does not occur simultaneously. He said, “We do not sell by the cluster; selling the entire cluster is the work of a lazy farmer!”
Abu Ahmed Al-Haneedi did not forget to mention that his abundant and distinctive Barhi production comes from natural date palm suckers (of Iraqi origin) that he imported in 1982.
Transparency and Dedication
Our active farmer speaker, Abu Ahmed, concluded his interview with “Agricultural Policy” by praising the performance of the board of directors of the Kuwaiti Farmers’ Union, under the presidency of farmer Ahmed Al-Adwani, due to their work with transparency and clarity toward farmers, and their achievement of remarkable results, as is evident and detailed in the administrative and financial report that was printed, widely distributed, and even published in daily newspapers so that member farmers could know their rights and obligations. For the first time in many years, everything in the Kuwaiti Farmers’ Union is now honest and clear, transparent.
He expressed his wishes for the progress and prosperity of this historic agricultural union, which is the first of its kind in Kuwait and the Arab Gulf region.
