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FOB KALSU, Iraq (May 8, 2008) - When soldiers of 6th Squadron,
8th Cavalry Regiment, began inspecting chicken coops in Hawr Rajab,
Iraq, in December, they found munitions caches and bomb-making
materials instead of poultry.
Al-Qaida in Iraq fighters terrorized the residents of this
community south of Baghdad, destroying buildings, stealing feed and
killing livestock.
Although peace has largely returned to the area, agriculture --
the main source of employment for local residents -- is struggling
to recover. With help from soldiers of 6-8th Cavalry Regiment and
the U.S. Department of State's Baghdad-7 Embedded Provincial
Reconstruction Team, farmers here are hopeful that prosperity will
return.
Members of the embedded PRT and 6-8th Cavalry Regiment soldiers
distributed more than 13,000 egg-laying hen chicks to 10 poultry
farmers in the Hawr Rajab area May 6 with the aim of providing a
more sustainable income for the area's largely family-based
farms.
Mike Stevens, the embedded PRT's agricultural advisor, estimated
that the delivery created 40 new jobs. He credits soldiers with the
program's success so far.
"All I had to do was line up a plan to get the chicks out to the
farmers," he said. "The [soldiers] risked their lives to recon
these chicken coops," Stevens said.
The program to restore Hawr Rajab's poultry industry began with
micro-grants to help farmers refurbish their damaged coops. The
embedded PRT distributed 3,000 chicks to area farmers in April.
Prices for poultry products have been inflated here recently,
with local residents relying on Baghdad markets for meat and eggs.
Stevens said he reduced prices for meat and eggs in local markets
would be a measure of success for the program.
Besides lower prices and higher employment for local residents,
the greatest benefit to farmers is a better working relationship
with their government, Stevens said.
"This is all part of the membership drive that began with seed
and plastic distribution. It's a way of encouraging [citizens] to
pay dues to get into the farmers union," he said.
The embedded PRT helped form local farmers unions as a way of
restoring farmers' connections with the government, Stevens
explained. Plans call for providing agribusiness training to teach
farmers how to use their money wisely, giving them greater buying
power.
Stevens worked with the Iraqi Agriculture Ministry to get the
program off the ground. The ministry provides vaccinations for the
chicks and, in turn, looks to the embedded PRT and soldiers in the
area to help farmers in the short term.
Stevens said one farmer who received the chicks, Kaleed Jasim,
reminded him of his job at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
"He said it was very nice to see farmers focused again in Hawr
Rajab," Stevens said. "He's kind of like me back home. If something
happens, I worry about my farmers, and you could tell he's worried
about his farmers." Jasim worked for the Agriculture Ministry
during Saddam Hussein's regime.
"He will be able to employ people with this business and provide
employment to the industry he loves: agriculture," Stevens
said.
The 6-8th Cavalry Regiment is operationally attached to the 3rd
Infantry Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team from Fort Stewart,
Ga.
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