172nd Infantry Brigade Soldiers from Forward Operating Base Kalsu engaged in a patrol to the central Euphrates farmers market and to a fish farm in Khdir, recently.

The patrol, led by 1st Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment Soldiers, began at FOB Kalsu and travelled to the central Euphrates farmer’s market in Selah. Here, Provincial Reconstruction Team members and Soldiers were involved in the first board meeting held at the farmer’s market. The previous meetings were held at FOB Kalsu.

The central Euphrates farmer’s market is a market that represents approximately 4,900 farmers from the northern part of the Babil province. The next closest farmer’s market is 70 kilometers away in Karbala.

“This farmer’s market is closer to the farmer’s fields,” said Sheik Umran Hashim, the head of Alwaha Agricultural Association. “By spending less money traveling, the farmers keep more money in their pocket.”

The purpose of the meeting was to familiarize the 1st Bn., 2nd Inf. Regt. leadership with the PRT, Civilian Affairs and local Iraqi leadership. The board meeting was also to showcase the progress of the market. The topics discussed here included funding, the cold storage facility, auction price for the market stalls and security plans for the market.

Khdir is a predominately shiite town that was overtaken by al-Qaida and the area was used as a staging area to train and attack surrounding areas. Al-Qaida prevented the farmers in the area from harvesting fish, thus harming the area.

Sheikh Jaffer Hussin Dandal, the owner of the fish farms in this part of the province, is one of the first sheiks to work with coalition forces here. By working with the CF, Dandal is able to harvest fish without al-Qaida interference. The fish farms also help bring the people back into the area, after they were forced out.

The fish farm assistance is one of the projects that the PRT has helped to boost the local economy in Iraq.

DVIDS
By Pfc. Bethany L. Little and Spc. Dawn Van Horn
Multi-National Division – Center

Ahmed Adnan Hashim is passionate about yogurt. He’s passionate about cheese and cream and the other products produced at the Nu-Nu factory in Bada, a small town in northern Babil province. With his brother, Qahetan, managing the factory, Nu-Nu produces what Ahmed said is the best yogurt in Iraq.

“One of the reasons local citizens depend on our products is that we deal in high quality,” Ahmed said.

Buying locally-made Iraqi products isn’t just a matter of pride with Ahmed. Imported products contain additives, he said, something he doesn’t need to use, since his products are shipped fresh and tested regularly. To demonstrate the quality, he opened a container of his yogurt and held it upside-down, and the yogurt stayed inside.

“You couldn’t do that with the imported stuff,” he said. “People in Basrah and Nasariyah in the south, or Mosul in the north, always ask us to provide them with products. It’s a good sign for us that people still want high quality,” he said.

The business, which currently employs about 175 people, used to employ nearly 300.Unsafe roads restricted fresh milk deliveries from local farmers, reducing production.

“We faced a hard situation when the insurgents and militias took over the neighborhoods here,” Ahmed recalled. “We faced a lot of problems, especially with the power.”

Unreliable power generation makes it difficult to keep machines working and products refrigerated. The two large generators, which provided most of the factory’s power, were so old and in such disrepair that they barely worked at all.

Soldiers from 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Inf. Division, learned of the factory’s problems during an assessment of businesses in the area. They tracked down two one-megawatt generators at the Iskandariyah Industrial Complex, which the state-owned company was willing to donate.

With a pair of heavy-equipment transporters, Soldiers delivered the generators to Nu-Nu factory, Aug. 5. Though slightly used, the generators represented a huge savings to the factory; purchased new, the pair would have cost almost $1 million.

MNF-I
By Sgt. David Turner
4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division