Tenn. Guard troops to help Afghan farmers

[unhappycamper]

Afghan farmer Abdullah Amiri, 46, works in January 2005 in his wheat crop in a field that previously grew opium poppy in the district of Surkh Rod near to Jalalabad, Afghanistan, 80 miles east of Kabul. Soldiers from the Tennessee National Guard will deploy in late February to Afghanistan and work with Afghan farmers and organizations in areas such as agronomy; fruit, vegetable and livestock production; civil engineering; water management and beekeeping.


Tenn. Guard troops to help Afghan farmers
Staff report
Posted : Saturday Feb 14, 2009 13:24:15 EST

About 65 soldiers from the Tennessee National Guard will deploy in late February to Afghanistan as part of an agribusiness development team.

The soldiers, who are training at Camp Atterbury, Ind., before going overseas, will use their expertise to work with Afghan farmers and organizations in areas such as agronomy; fruit, vegetable and livestock production; civil engineering; water management and beekeeping.

The goal is to revitalize agriculture in Afghanistan. The team from Tennessee will be based in Paktia province, an eastern Afghan province that borders Pakistan.


Article at: http://armytimes.com/news/2009/02/army_agtraining_021409w/%2e