Posted on 12/26/2009 8:09:56 PM PST by SandRat
Spc. Courtney Brown, Delta Troop, 3/73 Cav., 1st BCT, 82nd Airborne Div., drives one of the tractors delivered to Iraqi farmers, Dec. 22, in Sununi. Photo by Spc. Crystal Witherspoon, 3rd Infantry Division.
FOB MAREZ — To help them reap a bountiful harvest next season, U.S. Soldiers here recently delivered two large tractors and two mid-size combines to local farmers in Sununi.
Because farming, a very essential contributor to Sununi's economic success, has been rather hard for the workers due to a lack of farming supplies, the U.S. State Department’s Provincial Reconstruction Team here has been making plans since September to provide these farmers with as much support as possible.
Lt. Col. Robert Bensburg, PRT, said his team was notified about the lack of functioning farm equipment in Sununi, as well as the rest of the Ninewa Province, and decided it would be very beneficial to lend the farmers a hand.
"Agriculture in the province of Ninewa, including Sununi, is approximately 80 percent of the economic base here,” he said. “It drives a lot of the economic development within this province. We thought it would make a very important contribution if we could support that industry by purchasing these tractors for them.”
According to Capt. Brian Genze, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, helping the Sununi farmers is a big goal for the PRT, as well as his unit’s Soldiers.
"A lot of these farmers depend mainly on their crops for financial support,” he said. “Lately, due to droughts, a large percentage of them have not been able to produce as much as they are normally accustomed to. The shortage of crops led to less money which forced a lot of the farmers to sell their tractors in order to provide for their family.”
The captain added that the Sununi people are very independent and are striving for financial success in their area.
"Since we have been here, the people of Sununi have shown nothing but cooperation with us,” he said. “On both ends we are doing everything in our power to continue building a great working relationship. We're helping the citizens as much as possible without making any dependencies … hopefully the equipment we gave them today will have a positive impact on their economic development.”
That’s a tractor? Looks like a riding mower.
See the Japanese would have given a Japanese tractor - to secure future business. Americans are just idiots regarding foreign trade. Probably why we have billion dollar trade deficits.
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