Planting seeds to restore Iraqi agriculture's fruitfulness

BABIL PROVINCE, Iraq — Mansour Abdul Khadim's mix of winter crops gives every impression of abundance, despite the double threat of drought and violence that has plagued Iraqi agriculture since Saddam Hussein's fall in 2003.

Rows of red potatoes and green beans grow together in one lot. Winter wheat sprouts in adjacent fields. Tomatoes for the spring already are incubating in mounds of fertilizer.

Khadim, 37, whose family has farmed in this rural area south of Baghdad for decades, taking advantage of a drop in violence to rebuild decrepit canals and boost his farm's production as part of a 700-member agricultural cooperative. He's part of a trend that many hope will increase across the country, bolster employment and restore Iraq's status as a breadbasket for the Middle East.

As Khadim's farm shows, Babil Province — known not long ago as a part of the "Triangle of Death" — could be a sort of salad bowl for Iraq if the peace holds and farmers are able to invest in their land.

"They could turn Babil Province into an agricultural center like the Fresno valley," said Patrick Broyles, a U.S. Department of Agriculture adviser from Emporia, Kan., who is working in the region around Khadim's farm.

American agricultural experts who have worked in the country since 2003, are trying to support the agricultural sector because it's a vital employer, accounting for as much as a quarter of jobs in Iraq.

The country benefits from a 10-month growing season, good soil and its two rivers, which have supported farming in Iraq for thousands of years — the Tigris and Euphrates.

"The basic system for agriculture is there; it's just in shambles," said Joseph King, a project leader for studies on Iraqi farming conducted by Texas A&M University's Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture. Among obstacles that could keep Iraq importing its food well into the future:

• A shortage of electricity and fuel, which keeps farmers from pumping water out of wells.

• Poor systems to deliver water from the Euphrates and Tigris rivers to farms. Khadim's area is served by one main canal constructed by the British in the 1930s, and another, in poor condition, that was built about 30 years ago by a Turkish company.

• Depleted seed and livestock supplies that were hindered first by the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s and then by United Nations sanctions that followed Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

• Inefficient drainage on many farms that allows salt to build up.

• A shortage of border-security agents to prevent Syrian, Iranian or Turkish imports from flooding Iraqi markets.

The Borlaug Institute — named for Norman Borlaug, father of the "Green Revolution," credited with staving off massive famine in the 1960s — is focusing on educating farmers more than calling for immediate changes in how Iraqis manage their agricultural sector.

The State Department has a similar strategy. It's investing in Iraq's agricultural-extension program to spread knowledge about the latest farming techniques.

"Ultimately, the goal is to provide enough income so people won't be shooting at each other, or at us," said a U.S. embassy official who spoke on condition that he not be identified.

Edwin Price, director of the Borlaug Institute, noted a regional demand for certain Iraqi exports — dates, eggplants, cucumbers and okra. He has encouraged farmers to focus on those crops, which can earn them higher incomes — and use less water — than cereal grains. Iraqi lamb is considered a delicacy, too.

But Iraqi produce is hard to find in the fruit and vegetable markets that dot Baghdad's streets. Most of the cornucopia of pomegranates, tangerines, cauliflower, tomatoes, cucumbers and eggplants at the markets comes from Syria, sellers said.