Posted on 07/01/2008 5:37:27 PM PDT by SandRat
FORWARD OPERATING BASE MAHMUDIYAH — A series of four greenhouses in Mahmudiyah officially opened in a ribbon cutting ceremony, June 28.
“The greenhouses are definitely a dominant feature in the area; there is nothing else around them, and they can be seen well into the distance,” said Capt. Benjamin Neusse, 3rd Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, Civil Military Operations officer. “Hopefully it gives people the impression that progress is being made along agricultural lines.”
The four greenhouses are more than 500 square meters each, and use agriculture refill plastic sheets on the outside. The sheets convert ultraviolet rays into heat to produce a more acclimated environment for plants to grow.
“The greenhouse is a pilot project through the local agriculture union for research and development of agriculture technology,” said Neusse, a native of Murfreesboro, Tenn. “The houses are on lease for one year to the union to educate local farmers on potential technology.”
There is a 60 cubic meter storage pond for the drip irrigation system. All of the houses have an independent valve, which means each can be individually selected for irrigation.
“The project started a year ago when the (embedded Provincial Reconstruction Team) came to me expressing a high level of interest in agriculture,” said Oded Abrahim Ghanthwan, owner of the greenhouse property. “It took so long to come together because, for a long time, the security in the area was not stable, but thanks to the coalition and Iraqi army, the security is better and these greenhouses can be opened.”
Ghanthwan was the first person in the area to use the individual row greenhouse systems, which are more subjective to a smaller radius of crop growth.
“People followed my footsteps before and they want to do the same with these greenhouses,” Ghanthwan said. “Many other farmers are going forward attempting to get contracts for greenhouses of their own already, even before production has begun here. They see the potential.”
The seeds will be planted outside of the greenhouses and brought in when the plants are sprouting. At this time, the planned crops are tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries, melons and various other fruits and vegetables.
After one year, the agriculture union will hand the greenhouses over to Ghanthwan for full-time ownership.
Ahhh, no. That would be infrared rays, sparky.
On another note, I've got a greenhouse and the damn things can lure you into the most incredible stability. Then the system continues or crashes. Always a learning experience.
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