Some of the machinery that brought us to Um Al-Abeed village

Much of my time here has been spent in offices, which is not all bad because I’ve met interesting people, had good conversations and learned a lot about the agricultural reconstruction efforts in the area. It has been slightly frustrating too though, since the purpose of my trip initially was to meet Iraqi farmers.  On Sunday I learned just how much effort and energy it takes to go out into the field when you work for the US government.  It was the first day I was able to leave the military base– a large convoy of US army vehicles and Iraqi military and police trucks took us to a small village called Um Al-Abeed on the Northeast edge of Baghdad. We had to wear body armor and helmets every moment we were outside, and a large group of soldiers were guarding us at all times. I had been told it would be this way before we went out, but experiencing the mass movement of metal and machinery on our behalf made me realize the weight of the situation in a different way.

Um Al-Abeed is one of the USDA’s great success stories in Iraq. About a year ago a local farmer approached the USDA and Baghdad’s Provisional Reconstruction Team (PRT) asking for help for his farmers association.  A year later 4,000 donums* of agricultural land have been put back into production with pumps, greenhouses and drip irrigation systems. Their next hope is to create a training center for local farmers.  The center already exists, it’s been there since the 1980s, but it is in dire need of supplies and refurbishment.   Under Saddam’s regime farmers unions were run by the government; since the war many farmers have turned them into locally run NGOs, but the money and resources are still sorely lacking, Wareed Shan Agricultural Development Group, is one such example.  The area around Um Al-Abeed is a former insurgent stronghold, two neighboring villages (one Shiite, one Sunni) were abandoned because of the fighting, but families from both sides have begun to return now that there is work again.

They prepared a meal for us of meat and chicken, rice and vegetables. The lamb, bread and vegetables were from the farm- the chicken and rice were bought from outside. About 60% of their food is grown themselves, and they hope to increase that to 80% soon.  Unfortunately, the prosperity and optimism I saw at this farm is the exception and not the rule to farms in Iraq. Most farmers here are still struggling with the very basics: water, soil quality, getting their goods to market.

* 1 donum is about 1/3 of an acre

Through the slit windows of the MRAP I got little glimpses of the stories I want to tell...