Hybrid corn experience in Thi-Qar success

THI-QAR / IraqiNews.com: A recent initiative to plant hybrid corn in Thi-Qar province has yielded significant success, an official from the local agricultural department said on Tuesday. “The initiative, which began on March 25 in al-Bathaa district (45 km northeast of Nassiriya), has produced astonishing results in terms of quality and quantity…,” Mahdi Saleh al-Zarkani told IraqiNews.com. The initiative comes as part of efforts by the Ministry of Agriculture to provide an adequate amount of forage crops. Thi-Qar, 380 km south of Baghad, has an area of 12,900 square kilometers (4,980.7 sq mi). In 2003 the estimated population of the governorate was 1,454,200 people. Thi-Qar was the second Iraqi province where security responsibilities were transferred from the Multi-National Force (MNF) to the Iraqis. The province’s capital is the city of al-Nassiriya. It also includes the ancient Sumerian ruins of Ur, Eridu, Lagash and Ngirsu. Before 1976 the province was known as al-Muntafiq. SS (P) 1