U.S. Army Lt. Col. Mark Odom, Squadron Commander of the 1-40th Calvary Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, talks to an officer from the Iraqi Agricultural Union during a fertilizer drop-off in Al Rasheed, Iraq. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Olanrewaju Akinwunmi. From McClatchy:
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 is optimistic scanning the fields, not least because the days of government mandates for wheat production appear to have ended. He thinks that will give him more opportunities to earn extra money by selling more-valuable vegetables.
"I am not restrained by any government condition. I am free to use the land the way I want it," said Khadim, 37, whose family has farmed in this rural area south of Baghdad for decades.
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My Comment: Throughout history the land on the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers provided more than enough food to feed the population and to export their surpluses. Centralized socialist planing from the Baath Party .... like all Socialist models .... reversed what historically has always been the case.
With free market economics coming into play, I would not be surprised to see Iraq self sufficient in a year or two when it comes to food production. This is a significant accomplishment.
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