Palm trees went down by 15 million compared to 1980 – official

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The number of palm trees in Iraq is raning between nine and 10 million, a decrease by 15 million compared to 1980, the undersecretary of agriculture said on Sunday. “The rate of decrease in the number of palm trees is frightening as it resulted accumulatively from using palm orchards for military operations prior to 2003,” Mahdi al-Qays told IraqiNews.com news agency. “The government has subsidized the prices of palm trees by 150 billion Iraqi dinars. The outcome will be fruitful but it needs time,” he added, noting the ministry of agriculture is hatching a three-pronged plan to increase the number of palm trees. AmR (P) 1