Iraqi Chicken Farmers Get Jumpstart With Egg Delivery

BAGHDAD, April 28, 2008 – Chicken farmers in Mahmudiyah, 20 miles south of Baghdad, received the jumpstart their industry needed with the arrival of 45,000 eggs, each ready for hatching.

Army Capt. Benjamin Neusse, a civil military operations officer with 3rd Battalion, 320th Field Artillery, speaks with workers in the Mahmudiyah, Iraq, chicken hatchery, April 21, 2008. Photo by Army Pvt. Christopher McKenna, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

One of many economic projects initiated by Task Force Marne, revitalizing the region’s ailing poultry industry ranks as a top priority. Such initiatives play a crucial role in Multinational Division Center’s counterinsurgency strategy, officials said.

The Mahmudiyah Poultry Association is one such project. It’s used to strengthen the vertical market integration that will ensure the long-term success of the poultry industry in the region. To lay the foundation for sustained growth, profitability and market success, coalition forces are making strategic investments in infrastructure to implement the association’s business plan. These investments include refurbishing hatcheries, upgrading feed mills to produce higher-protein feed, and renovating processing plants.

“As farmers and residents recognize the close association between increased security and their enhanced standard of living relating to poultry farming, it is likely they will reject criminal insurgents in favor of growing prosperity,” said Army Maj. Jessica McCoy, a member of the Baghdad-4 embedded provincial reconstruction team, attached to the 101st Airborne Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team.

This first batch of fertilized eggs arrived at the Qadhari hatchery in Mahmudiyah after a long journey from the Netherlands. Over the next two weeks, the hatchery will receive two additional shipments of 45,000 and 40,000 eggs, respectively. Delicate procedures will help ensure that a maximum number of eggs survive the incubation process.