MULTI-NATIONAL FORCE-IRAQ
PRESS DESK
BAGHDAD, Iraq
http://www.mnf-iraq.com
703.343.8790
 
Press Release A080610c
June 10, 2008

Iraqi flight teams improve date palm protection

BAGHDAD – Iraq’s Ministry of Agriculture improved its ability to protect the nation’s commercial date palm crop from deadly dubas beetles through a nation-wide spraying program completed this week.

Pilots and maintenance crews increased their coverage by 33 percent this year, spraying nearly 170,000 acres, in six different provinces.  Last year, crews sprayed just over 120,000 acres in four provinces. 

“Left unchecked, the dubas beetle, which bores into the tree and kills it, can seriously disrupt the production of dates in the area,” said Mike Stevens, a Baghdad-7 embedded Provincial Reconstruction Team agriculture adviser.

In the 1970s, dates were Iraq’s second largest export behind oil.  With more than 30 million date palm trees and more than 600 varieties, Iraqi annual production of dates once exceeded 700,000 tons.  However, the date palm industry was slashed by more than half and lost most of its world markets after the Iran-Iraq war and sanctions that were imposed following Iraq’s occupation of Kuwait.  In the past two years, Iraq has begun the long, hard road to recovery.

To assist this recovery, Iraqi pilots and crews utilized two Russian-built Mi2 helicopters to  spray date palm groves in the provinces of Babil, Baghdad, Diyala, Karbala, Najaf and Wasit.  They overcame multiple challenges during the campaign, including time constraints, dust storms, a shortage of spare parts, and a lack of bases that could accommodate the helicopters.

Iraq’s Ministry of Defense, provisional reconstruction teams and Coalition forces also supported the pilots, who sprayed some areas that had not been covered since prior to the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003.

The Ministry of Agriculture has already started planning for next year.  The Ministry has appropriated $20 million to buy new helicopters and spare parts for 2009.  The Ministry expects to treat a larger percentage of the crop next year. 

“The real challenge now is to rebuild the date packaging industry, and re-enter the export market to regain market share,” said Stevens.  “Convincing purchasers that Iraq is once again a reliable supplier will take time, but within five to 10 years don’t be surprised to see packages of dates labeled ‘grown and packaged in Iraq’ in your neighborhood grocery store.”

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