Johanns meets with Iraqi leaders to help rebuild agriculture

Editor's note: Midwest Ag Journal columnist Ken Root traveled with U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns on his recent trip to Iraq.

By Ken Root

The huge C-17 cargo plane carrying U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns, along with several tons of munitions and spare parts, thundered onto the runway in Baghdad early Tuesday morning. The plane's cargo and passengers represented the present reality and future hope of this war torn nation that is struggling to find a modern identity and balance in government, religion and private enterprise.

Secretary Johanns traveled into the war zone with his support team and a small delegation of academia, industry and media, to begin the process of reconstructing Iraq's agriculture while the U.S. military trains the Iraqis to take control of their own security. It seems to be a contradiction to don body armor and ride with a heavily armed military escort to discuss creation of an infrastructure for agricultural production and trade, but normalcy in the face of chaos seems to be the theme for those living in Baghdad and much of the country today.

Modern Iraq reaches northwest from the Persian Gulf along a sloping plain that ascends to tall mountains at the border with Turkey, Iran and Syria. It is a dry landscape with six inches of annual rainfall in the central plain. Ancient Iraq was called Mesopotamia, Greek for "land between two rivers" because it was defined by meandering rivers whose names are synonymous with farming and the advancement of civilization.

The Tigris and Euphrates created a rich alluvial plain where man was first know to practice farming. The science of irrigation was started here and the "Fertile Crescent" may have yielded the Garden of Eden and certainly was the foundation of early cultures from the Sumerians to Babylonians to the Assyrians. The need to keep records of transactions, govern an urban population and pass on knowledge of how to farm inspired the first writing and mathematical science that flourished as much as long as seven thousand years ago.

Today, many of the irrigation canals lay in ruins and the land has built up salts from so many years of irrigation and flooding. The agricultural production is a shadow of the past and farmers seem to have lost the knowledge passed on by their learned ancestors.

Secretary Johanns began his discussions with the Iraqi Prime Minister, Dr. Nouri Al-Maliki, who welcomed the outreach of U.S. President George Bush to assist the Iraqi government in establishing a new structure for education and rebuilding of the Iraqi agricultural sector. Detailed talks were held with the Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister, Dr. Salam al-Zawba'i who holds a Ph.D. in soil science and is a passionate advocate of the agrarian sector. Dr. Salam encouraged his ministers of Trade, Science and Technology, Higher Education and Scientific Research to engage the U.S. initiative to return Iraq to its former role as "breadbasket of the Middle East."

Together they signed an agreement that may be the boldest effort for the Cooperative Extension Service in its eighty-year history. The plan calls for land grant colleges and universities to develop long-term relationships with Iraq and to explore cooperative mechanisms that will bring the same level of practical application to Iraqi farmers that it has brought to American farmers.

The extension efforts will initially focus in these areas:

--Rice production

--Wheat and barley production

--Poultry, sheep and goat production and animal health

--Water resources management and irrigation technology

--Irrigated fruit and vegetable production

Johanns seemed elated at the signing: "In the United States (Extension) has been a real difference maker. It is Extension that is the bridge. It is that bridge between training, science and technology to the producer level where those things can be put to real practical day to day actions."

The USDA indicates that it wants five universities to begin the first phase of Iraqi Extension programs. "We will issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) and make selections in a matter of months," said Johanns at a news conference held in Saddam's former palace movie theater.

As the ceremonial signing was completed and the USDA delegation moved to meetings with other Iraqi ministers, courtesy calls on military officials and dinner with the troops, a buzz of gossip circled the building as a mortar round had blown up on the grounds, a car bomb had hit a checkpoint outside and an attack in downtown Baghdad had killed and injured scores of Iraqi civilians. The reality of war and the hope of peace--a normal day in Iraq.

Date: 8/3/06


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