After ensuring the security of the country, the time has come to boycott the imports and activate and develop the national industry, to make it capable of competing in the local and foreign markets, because this will also allow Iraq to export its products and to benefit from their high revenues. I think that this solution is better than continuously killing the national industry through the imports. The national industry is more like a ghost because it is completely absent and there are no public or private factories in Iraq, as there were in the past. Industry is necessary for every country; it is a cause of the economic bloom and the rise in the national income, and the elimination of unemployment and poverty, because the revival of industry means generating many job opportunities in several fields. This would also help the youth make use of their leisure time, and this is one of the methods of fighting terrorism, by containing the youth and keeping them busy in work.

In my humble opinion, there is no industry in Iraq to be developed. We should be honest with ourselves; I do not consider that the factories that assemble imported parts, for example, are factories producing Iraqi goods; and this is what is mostly happening in Iraq. I think that factories that can be considered purely Iraqi, depending on Iraqi raw materials, are not big or don't have prolific production. They can't meet the needs and demands of the Iraqi market, which has become almost entirely dependent on imported goods and those manufactured outside Iraq, in various countries such as China, the European Union, Iran, Syria, Egypt, Turkey and some other countries. So, such factories should be given more attention; they should be developed and their production lines should be increased in order to reach the actual needs of the Iraqi market in domestic products. These products should be made according to quality standards under the supervision of industrial control, in order to become competitive with the imported foreign products. If they conform to the standard specifications and are less expensive, then they certainly will be demanded by Iraqis which will make the Iraqi industry thrive and grow. This can happen only if the factories are rehabilitated and developed on the one hand, and the technical standards of the products and their prices are taken into consideration on the other hand.

Of course, I support this step and I wish that all the Iraqi factories would resume production in all national fields, not only in the greenhouses, water pumps, and tractors. The reopening of these factories may be the first step towards the recovery of the national industry in Iraq, which will contribute greatly to the efforts aimed at the elimination of unemployment, strengthening the economy and forsaking the principle of importing everything. On the other hand, manufacturing these materials and machinery inside Iraq at cheap prices will help the farmers get them at prices that are cheaper than the ones of their imported counterparts. Of course, this would boost the industry in Iraq and develop it, in addition to encouraging many ex-farmers to return to their old profession, with the availability of these materials at affordable prices. Every famer needs a tractor to cultivate his land and transport the harvest. He also needs a greenhouse to cover some plants in the winter. The same thing applies to the water pumps that bring and distribute the irrigation water to his land. Hence, I am really optimistic about the reopening of these factories.

The foreign tractor is much better than the local one, as to its strength. The productivity and functionality may be the same, but the foreign tractor is stronger, because the Iraqi tractor, the Antar, which was widely used in Iraq, lacks precision, and this is the cause behind the frequent problems with this tractor, whether because of the engine or because of overheating. The Antar tractor does not meet any of the safety standards to protect the driver. For example, it does not have a front glass barrier, a roof, or any of the necessary features that are available in the foreign tractors. Hence, I find that the foreign tractors are better than the locally manufactured Antar tractors.

In my opinion, we cannot compare the Iraqi tractor, Antar, with the foreign tractors, which are developed, modern, luxurious and do not break down often. The Iraqi tractor, Antar, used to have many technical problems in the engine and so on. Hence, if Iraq wanted to begin to manufacture the Iraqi tractor again, then it must be developed and become more advanced, as well as stronger. We all remember how the tires on the front of the tractor used to fall off and how the drivers used to take them away, which represents a great danger for a tractor to function with only one front wheel. Hence, I find that there is no room for comparison or competition between the locally-made tractor and the first-class foreign tractors.

In Iraq, we need whatever will contribute to the development of agriculture and bring it back to its normal position; therefore, we support the idea of reopening these factories as they were in the past, to resume agricultural production instead of continuing to import everything from abroad. Of course, this will save a lot of money, which is spent on importing the green houses or water pumps, which are extremely important for the farmers to get the water to reach their agricultural lands. The same thing applies to the tractors, which were previously made in Iraq. All these factors will rehabilitate agriculture and bring the Iraqi industry back to life.