Texas Ag Commissioner Pushes Iraq Trade

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) _ Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples has been in Iraq this week as part of a global effort to promote Texas agriculture and know-how and to visit troops.

At the urging of Texas farmers and ranchers, Staples is seeking out international trading partners. He went to Iraq to help establish relations with that country. Analysts say Iraq imports 70 percent of its food, a value of about $3 billion.

Staples said Thursday from Iraq that the country was to be a major agricultural exporter decades ago. But war with Iran and sanctions put in place under the regime of former dictator Saddam Hussein have left the country’s agricultural sector struggling.

Staples went to Iraq as a guest of a group from Texas A&M University’s Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture. It’s which is working with the Department of Defense to help revitalize Iraq’s agriculture industry.

More News