VZCZCXYZ0005
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHGB #1763/01 1811556
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 301556Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3748
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS BAGHDAD 001763 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV IZ
SUBJECT: PRT WASIT HOSTS MAJOR AGRICULTURAL CONFERENCE 
 
This is a PRT Wasit reporting cable. 
 
This message is Sensitive But Unclassified; handle 
accordingly.  Not for distribution on the internet. 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  PRT Wasit on June 20-21 hosted a major 
agricultural conference in al-Kut.  The conference brought 
together Council of Representatives (CoR) members, ministry 
officials, provincial officials, subject matter experts and 
local farmers to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of 
Wasit,s flagging agricultural economy and develop an action 
plan to help move the Province forward.  A plenary session on 
the conference,s second day identified potential solutions 
to problem areas such as water usage and availability, energy 
shortfalls and bureaucratic mismanagement.  A Steering 
Committee was formed, chaired by an influential member of the 
COR, with a mandate to develop emergency measures to tackle 
the most pressing problems as well as a plan to address 
medium- and long-term goals.  The committee will convene for 
the first time in early July. Finally, the PRT,s use of 
facilitated groups, and training of PRT personnel to act as 
small group facilitators, was successful and might be 
profitably employed elsewhere in Iraq. End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Wasit Province, once commonly referred to as the 
&breadbasket of Iraq,8 has experienced a sharp decline in 
agricultural productivity in recent years.  Since 2000, 
productivity has declined approximately 45-50%, fueling a 
self-reinforcing cycle of unemployment, abandoned farmland, 
poverty and economic insecurity.  Poor economic prospects 
also increase the young population,s susceptibility to 
extremist rhetoric and have contributed to occasional 
hostility toward both the Iraqi Security Forces and the 
Coalition Forces.  Reasons for this downturn include 
declining water resources, poor overall resource management, 
crumbling physical and human infrastructure, regulatory 
problems and lack of access to credit.  A common thread 
linking these challenges has been a lack of coordination and 
communication among the various stakeholders and 
decision-makers in Wasit,s agricultural economy.  Having 
identified this problem through active outreach among 
Wasit,s farmers and managers, the PRT hosted a major 
regional conference June 20-21 designed to bring 
together*for the first time*the Province,s various 
agricultural leaders with a view toward drafting an Action 
Plan to stabilize and improve its economy. 
 
A Milestone Meeting 
------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The process actually began with a series of three 
workshops in May and June where U.S. and Iraqi subject matter 
experts met with representatives from various agricultural 
sectors, including elected officials, sheiks, ministry 
officials, financial services representatives and farmers. 
The workshops not only provided information and training to 
participants, but also helped form a coherent operational 
picture of the current agricultural economy and identified 
themes to be addressed at the larger conference.  Workshop 
attendance was high, ranging from 35-40 for each session. 
The workshops also generated positive buzz about the upcoming 
conference in the agricultural community. 
 
¶4. (SBU) The two-day conference brought approximately 80 
participants together at a hotel in the Provincial capital of 
al-Kut--  an accomplishment in and of itself that for 
security reasons would have been impossible just one year 
ago.  Prominent participants included the Governor, the Chair 
of the Provincial Council, the Sadrist Deputy Governor, 
Wasit,s largest farmer, and two members of the Council of 
Representatives:  Sheik Jamal Batik and Majid Kharalla. 
Participants were divided into several small groups headed by 
QParticipants were divided into several small groups headed by 
PRT facilitators, and the groups were designed to avoid 
senior participants from dominating discussions.  Over the 
course of several sessions, participants discussed the 
strengths and weaknesses of agriculture in Wasit, identified 
the &advances8 needed for improvement in various sectors, 
charted obstacles and challenges to these advances, and 
finally, during a wrap-up plenary session, created an Action 
Plan and tasked specific individuals and groups for follow-up 
activity. 
 
Strengths, Weaknesses, and a New Steering Committee 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Discussions identified broad areas of agreement 
about Wasit,s strengths as an agricultural province.  A 
major river system, fertile soil, long growing season, 
available workforce, and historic/cultural ties and affinity 
to agricultural production were among the top characteristics 
in Wasit,s favor.  The challenges to tapping into these 
resources and turning agriculture around were daunting, 
however.  Above all, irrigation and water resource management 
was cited as the single greatest problem confronting the 
Province.  Other issues included energy, transfer of 
technology, credit availability, and animal wealth/husbandry 
concerns.  There was no shortage of ideas about how to 
address these issues.  From green energy technologies like 
investment in solar and wind energy (in ready supply on the 
sunny, windswept plains); to alternative irrigation practices 
like drip irrigation and better enforcement of water-usage 
regulations; to better training and education for key 
provincial and local civil servants involved in planning and 
management, participants agreed on many possible solutions to 
some of the most pressing issues.  What was conspicuously 
absent was the lack of any organizational structures, public 
or private, to help initiate such projects and coordinate on 
a larger scale. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The plenary group formulated an Action Plan that 
had as its centerpiece the creation of a Steering Committee 
(or &crisis cell8) with members drawn from all sectors of 
Wasit,s agricultural economy.  Designed to mirror local 
structures convened to take quick action during public health 
emergencies, the committee will be headed by Sheik Batik (COR 
representative), and include relevant DGs, agricultural 
experts, the chairman of the Provincial Council,s 
Agricultural Committee, and farmers.  This all-Iraqi 
committee planned to meet for the first time in early July to 
draft a list of short-term measures and medium and long-term 
goals, including coordinated lobbying/advocacy efforts in 
Baghdad, communication with other Provinces and planning for 
a Wasit-sponsored regional conference to promote cooperation 
on water management issues (in particular), and 
public-private partnerships to work together in other areas. 
Having hosted the initial meeting and brought the major 
players together, the PRT will continue to play a 
consultative role with the committee, but initiatives and 
actions lie solely with the Iraqis themselves. 
 
Best Practice:  Facilitated Discussions 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) One of the conference,s successes was the PRT,s 
use of trained facilitators to encourage group discussions. 
PRT BBAs and linguists underwent hours of training to learn 
techniques designed to draw out participants and help collect 
and organize feedback.  Each facilitator worked with a single 
group and moved discussions along while still affording 
ownership of the discussion, and the ideas that were 
generated, to the Iraqi participants.  Although the PRT was 
unsure how participants would take to the very &American8 
techniques, without exception the groups were energetic, 
lively, and had a high-level of participation from all 
involved.  For more information on the nature of the 
facilitation, contact Senior Agricultural Advisor Patrick 
Moore at Patrick.Moore@iraq.centcom.mil 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Comment:  Initial feedback from the conference is 
that a critical mass of concerned stakeholders can be 
catalyzed ) with the right forum and concepts ) to 
collaborate and take steps necessary to sustain their good 
ideas.  We are cautiously optimistic that the Iraqi 
participants appreciated that the PRT,s role was only 
indirectly supportive and, after a few pointed remarks, 
accepted that the PRT was not in a position to offer 
solutions.  We will follow up closely to provide logistical 
and advisory support to the efforts of the &Crisis Cell.8 
HILL