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Agriculture
serves as the foundation on which
many countries build their
economies. The U.S. Government is
therefore helping Iraq revitalize
its agricultural sector.
Agricultural
Trade. USDA efforts in Iraq have
helped establish a growing market
for U.S. agricultural exports of
wheat, rice and poultry. Iraq
currently imports almost $3 billion
in food annually. Of that amount,
U.S. agricultural exports in 2005
totaled $325.6 million. During the
period January-October 2006, U.S.
agricultural exports to Iraq
increased to $339 million compared
to $244 million for the same period
in 2005—a nearly 39-percent increase
in one year. Iraq was the No. 2
buyer of U.S. hard red winter wheat
in marketing year 2005-2006. In
addition, Iraq was the No. 1 buyer
of U.S. long grain milled rice in
2005. In the late 1980s, it was our
top market for rice and one of our
top 10 wheat export markets.
Trade
Capacity Building. The United
States supports Iraq’s accession to
the World Trade Organization (WTO).
To help Iraq gain a better
understanding of U.S. trade policy
and the WTO, USDA expects to place
an agricultural advisor in Baghdad
to work with the Iraqi Government on
agricultural policy issues. In July
2005, the United States and Iraq
signed a Trade and Investment
Framework Agreement to promote
bilateral trade and investment.
Prior to that, a large Iraqi
delegation, including
representatives from the Ministries
of Agriculture, Health, Trade and
Investment, attended a WTO
orientation workshop in Washington,
DC, in November 2004. These efforts
are coupled with ongoing activities
by the U.S. Department of State, the
U.S. Trade Representative’s Office,
the U.S. Agency for International
Development (USAID) and other U.S.
Government agencies, all of which
are aimed at accelerating Iraq’s WTO
accession so that it becomes
integrated into regional and global
markets.
Development.
USDA’s Cochran Fellowship
Program in Iraq resumed for the
first time since 1990 in December
2004. Thirteen individuals
participated in agricultural
education and extension training in
the United States in 2005. Up to 15
Cochran Fellows are expected to
participate in the program in 2007.
This program provides short-term,
market-oriented agricultural
training to help countries develop
market-driven food systems.
Technical
Assistance. In January 2007,
USDA’s Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service (APHIS) is
sponsoring an Iraqi Government
scientist’s training in
epidemiological Avian Influenza (AI)
at its office in Cairo, Egypt.
Another Iraqi Government scientist
will visit APHIS’ key epidemiology
center in Fort Collins, Colorado, in
March 2007. In August 2006, USDA and
the U.S. military organized a
regional AI workshop in northern
Iraq, which was attended by 15 Iraqi
Government veterinarians. In May
2006, two Iraqi scientists attended
training on diagnostic testing for
highly pathogenic AI at USDA’s
National Veterinary Services
Laboratories in Ames, Iowa. This
training is a joint effort of Iowa
State University and USDA. As part
of the training, U.S. diagnostic
experts will travel to Iraq to
observe and provide feedback on the
implementation of what was learned.
On June 30,
2005, USDA signed a $10.8 million
Food for Progress food aid agreement
with the U.S. Grains Council under
which USDA provided Iraq with 21,250
tons of corn and 8,750 tons of
soybean meal. Commodities were
delivered and sold in Iraq in early
2006. The Grains Council is using
the proceeds from the sales to
revitalize the country’s poultry
sector.
USAID conducted
a variety of agricultural
production, infrastructure and
machinery and capacity building
projects through the Agriculture
Reconstruction and Development
Program for Iraq (ARDI). This
program ended in October 2006. A new
program, INMA, is scheduled to
continue USAID’s efforts in this
area in spring 2007.
Advisors.
Currently, six USDA employees
are in Iraq to support the country’s
reconstruction. Two U.S.
agricultural officers from USDA’s
Foreign Agricultural Service are
posted at the American Embassy in
Baghdad, starting in July 2004. Two
employees of USDA’s Rural Business
Cooperative Service are serving as
agricultural development officers on
Provincial Reconstruction Teams.
These employees are serving one-year
details assisting Iraq provincial
government officials in developing
the agricultural sector. One
extension advisor from the Natural
Resources Conservation Service is
assigned to the Iraqi Ministry of
Agriculture to build its capacity in
agricultural extension, agricultural
strategic planning and food safety
and inspection. Two other USDA
agriculture advisors are expected to
be on duty at the Ministry of
Agriculture soon. A USDA public
affairs specialist is part of the
U.S. Embassy’s public affairs team.
General
information about FAS programs,
resources, and services is available
on the Internet at the FAS home
page:
http://www.fas.usda.gov
Rebuilding Agriculture and Food
Security in Iraq