Afghanistan ag director to visit Missouri

The Missouri National Guard is hosting a visit of Director Safi Mohammad Hussein, the Director of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock of Afghanistan's Nangarhar Province. The Missouri National Guard has had an Agri-Business Development Team (ADT) in Nangarhar Province since late 2007.

Director Safi is visiting at the invitation of U.S. Sen. Kit Bond, who has visited the ADT, and highlights of his stay will include the Missouri State Fair, State Capitol, Missouri Farm Bureau, Missouri Department of Agriculture, Lincoln University, University of Missouri and Missouri Department of Conservation. All of these agencies are partners in the success of the Agri-Business Development Team concept.

The Missouri National Guard was the first in the nation to have an Agri-Business Development Team in 2007. The first Agri-Business Development Team served in Nangarhar Province from fall 2007 until December 2008. The current team arrived in December 2008 and is expected to return in November 2009, when they will be replaced by the third Missouri National Guard Agri Business Development Team.

The approximately 60 member team consists of Missouri National Guard Army and Air members, from all across Missouri. The team consists of security force personnel and agriculture specialists including an agronomist, pest management specialist, agriculture marketing specialist, hydrologist, soil science specialist and large animal veterinarian.

The team works to improve irrigation systems and provides techniques for fertilizing, reconstitution, planting, harvesting, marketing and storage of agriculture crops.

Several other states now have teams in Afghanistan mirroring the pilot team for the Missouri National Guard including: Texas, Indiana, California, Iowa, Kansas, Tennessee, Nebraska, Kentucky, Florida and Oklahoma.

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