U.S. pushes for poultry co-op in Mahmudiyah

U.S. pushes for poultry co-op in Mahmudiyah
Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Monday, January 28, 2008

U.S. soldiers and agricultural experts are working with poultry farmers in Mahmudiyah, Iraq, to try to band them together into a cooperative.

In Mahmudiyah, an agricultural community south of Baghdad and traditionally the hub of Baghdad province’s poultry industry, some of the violence of the war halted production of a variety of poultry, broilers and eggs, U.S. officials say.

Much of the chicken and eggs consumed in the country are imported, according to a news release issued Saturday by Multi-National Corps—Iraq.

The military and agricultural experts are identifying poultry farmers and working to band them together to form the Mahmudiyah Poultry Association. The military calls it “Operation Chicken Run.”

The Baghdad-embedded Provincial Reconstruction Team 4 is seeking assistance from the U.S. Agency of International Development to help farmers repair their facilities.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=51986

What do they turn to in order to make progress? A progressive idea like a co-op.