Conf. to discuss development of agricultural sector in Basra

BASRA / IraqiNews.com: The Basra Businessmen’ Union held on Sunday a conference to discuss means of overhauling and developing the private agricultural sector, and to remove all obstacles in the province. The one-day event, in which businessmen, farmers, and specialists took part, was organized by the Union in association with the Iraqi Society for Defending Consumers’ Rights and the Iraqi Business Council. “Basra was characterized during the past decades by an agro-economy of abundant palm trees and tomatoes in addition to other crops but these were lost gradually due to previous wars and negligence of the agricultural sector in recent years,” Abdulsaheb Saleh, the conference organization supervisor, told IraqiNews.com news agency. The port city of Basra lies 590 km south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. AmR (P)/SR 1