Farmers unions move forward in South Rasheed, Arab Jabour
By Sgt. David Turner, 2nd BCT, 3rd Inf. Div., PAO
May 12, 2008 - 2:05:20 PM
Blackanthem Military News
FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq - U.S. Department of State representatives and American Soldiers met with farmers unions in South Rasheed and Arab Jabour May 6.
The Baghdad-7 embedded Provincial Reconstruction Team and 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, are helping the unions improve agriculture in their areas.
Captain Jeffrey Brizek, ePRT deputy agricultural adviser, said important progress has been made since they began working with the local unions. The biggest gain, he said, is that unions once again have a close working relationship with their local governments and Iraq's Ministry of Agriculture.
"We're providing a consultation and advisory role," Brizek said. "They've been doing this stuff for a long time - thousands of years; they know what they're doing. Some of their systems just had to be jump-started and put back into connection."
A prominent topic at both meetings was participation in an MoA loan program to purchase new tractors. The two unions will buy nine tractors - manufactured in Turkey - between them, and rent the equipment out to local farmers. These purchases will be the first use of such loans in the area, Brizek said. To help get them going, ePRT will help by paying the 5 percent interest on the loans.
"Instead of just providing grants for farmers, we're trying to encourage farmers to develop industries with money from the Iraqi government," Brizek said. "This is an opportunity for them to use what's being provided for them by their government."
Another project the ePRT is working on with the farmers unions is improving beekeeping operations in the area. Mike Stevens, ePRT chief agricultural adviser, presented a $4,300 grant to buy supplies for beekeepers in the Arab Jabour region. Lately, beekeeping supplies have been limited, and the ePRT saw an opportunity to help develop the industry.
"The honey in the area is just incredible," Brizek said. "There are a lot of citrus crops which provide for the bee farms, and it's a better tasting honey."
Brizek said he was pleased with the progress farmers unions are making and looks forward to the day when Coalition forces can step back and let them work out their problems on their own.
"We're seeing our role diminish in the way we're hoping for," he said.