The basis of civilizations in history is agriculture by virtue of it cities were formed , evolved and flourished ,and States are still interested in it , and working to improve seeds and preserve them.
Among states that focused on the preservation of plant seeds is the Norway which set up in 2008 the biggest cellar in the world , “Svalbard” in collaboration with the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research cigar , in the Norwegian Island , Spitsbergen , about 1300 km from the North Pole, at a cost of about $ 9 million; to keep various types of plant seeds inside a mountain of sandstone, in the gene bank of seeds from all over the world, to secure them against loss, because of the wars and regional and global crisis and disasters or collision of planets, which this conservation will contribute significantly in the rebuilding of civilizations. Many plants that were used centuries ago by humans are used less frequently now and seed banks offer a way to preserve that historical and cultural value .A seed bank stores seeds to preserve genetic diversity, hence it is a type of genetic bank.
In the context of preserving the genes of seeds , Iraq had national seed bank and keeps seeds dating back to thousands of years, and has an important role in this area , as it founded a giant monument for Studies and agricultural research, to promote the agricultural sector and enacted a law of the Ibaa Center for Agricultural Research No. (9) for the year 1994, which it is linked to the Council of Ministers and be based in Baghdad, and enjoys legal personality and financial and administrative independence , and has a sub – centers in some of Iraq ‘s provinces, including scientific research center of animal wealth and its goal to increase the numbers of wealth and improving quality.
The Iba center aims to :
* promotion of agricultural scientific research in all fields and work on the transfer of research results and new technologies to the reality on the ground and follow – up and analysis of results.
* Development and introduction of plant and animal species and the propagation of its origins .
* Propagation of certified and recorded seeds and distributed to the beneficiaries.
* Implementation of any of a temporary nature of development projects.
* There are other items of this law can be found by searching in the Internet.
But then in 2003 ,the United States entered and occupied Iraq and destroyed the infrastructure and this edifice has its share of destruction.
And among branches of the Iba center , which its infrastructure were devastated by the US occupation like other Iraqi cultural facilities: –
* Center ( Usol) for poultry breeding and production ,Samarra Branch, this was the center also offers special and important scientific research for poultry includes chicken mothers related to poultry production and reproduction, and the production of table eggs and hatching and increase the qualities and distribute them to the rest of the poultry farms scattered across Iraq, it is within its production of vaccines needed by the owners of poultry farms, providing guidance and sells chickens to the fields and the production of table eggs and sell it to the local market.
* Abu Ghraib Center for Agricultural Research as the best research of agriculture and provides guidance to the peasants, through field visits to farms, there is a section of the palm, as the experts then conduct experiments on genes for seedlings of rare palm trees to be planted in the whole of Iraq, and increasing the number of types of dates, and improved types of vaccines for diseases of palms and the types of trees and vegetables.
* Nibai center for breeding and fattening calves for the purpose of providing meat to market and sell the cows and calves to the owners of the fields of of cattle and farmers , and calves for butchers .
And these centers must be returned to the service through the popular demands, in order to promote the agricultural sector again after the great damage caused to it by the establishment of important irrigation projects , including the project of irrigation of the western island , and irrigation of Samarra island because of its great benefits and do not forget that the land of Iraq was called Ard al-Sawad (the land of greenness) .
US researcher reveal facts about orders of Bremer to destroy the Iraqi economy :
Dr.Dalia Wasfi researcher in the biology of Iraqi origin, was born in 1971 in New York , the American Jewish mother and an Iraqi Muslim father, in early 2006, Dalia visited Iraq for three months and she wandered the city of Basra , after returning to the US , she spoke to a gathering in Congress at the way things went in Iraq , the lack of security and services and the lack of availability of drinking water and the spread of unemployment, and indicated that Iraq has become “worse off after the invasion than we expected “, and worked in search of war affects on agriculture , economy and the environment and how to restructure the agricultural methods.
According to scary facts about the most important real reasons behind the US invasion of Iraq which was built on the principle of nothing is green in the green zone, if we go back a little bit to the history b 200-300 years BC,
We will find the Fertile Crescent area known as the cradle of civilizations (Tigris and Euphrates) and how it was turned today into a desert. The old of agriculture in Iraq dates back to 10,000 years i.e before 8000 years BC , and the development of agriculture and then the inhabitants of Mesopotamia invented irrigation methods ,as with its virtue of it had become a surplus of agricultural crops , which led to the discovery of the clothing industry, and that the surplus of crop production in turn led to the invention of writing to write down and record the supplies , and buying and selling process , so the invented the cuneiform writing immediately afterwards , and thus became the first one who invented writing, and then they invented mathematics, numbers , and the foundations of law and medicine , thus it was founded the greatest civilizations before 7000 years and before 600 BC it was created at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar II the hanging gardens which ranked of the seven wonders, it was not built according to a contract of US or European company, and all those glory days were not with the help of the Americans and the British, in short , Iraq was a Garden of Eden.
In the twentieth century , Iraq was planting crops and export them and most notably dates noting that in 1950 Iraq had exported 400 types of dates for the world, and the number of palm trees in Iraq was 35 million palm trees, but today it has dropped to less than 15 million palm trees , according to the Department of Defense statistics thank to the occupation , and regarding the health and education , in the seventies despite the country ‘s policy of restricting the freedom , however , it was shown a remarkable recovery .one Iraqi Dinar = US $ 3 , and this is an index to the rise of real value of currency , a free health and education, all of this evidence that the economy was in the best state .
During the eighties , the Iraqi economy turned into a battlefield economy, where Iraq fought a war with the Iranian regime, and more cities exposed to the destruction, and the most important is Basra because of its important location and adjacent to Iran, but the water and electricity supply remained constant for civil, and according to the confidential information obtained by a researcher from the US Congress , American supports and finance Iraq above the table, and also supports Iran from under the table , this is the US policy.
When the Iran – Iraq war was ended that lasted eight years , Iraq was in urgent need to rebuild the country , and the payment of debts, but the price of a barrel of oil , which was down between 10 and 12 dollars, instead of $ 18 a barrel was frustrating, it was what really needs 40 billion dollars, but the low price of oil and the amount of supply was large , this was one of the reasons to enter Kuwait.
After entering Kuwait on 02.08.1990 four days later , the United Nations passed Resolution 661 on the day 6 of the same year, the UN Security Council imposed economic sanctions on the Iraq which exhausted the economy.
In the Gulf War of the year 1991 , which lasted 42 days. America used the worst weapons against Iraq, it has been used more than 88,000 tons of explosives, and the destruction of water, electricity and sewage networks and communication centers in all parts of Iraq, and public health facilities , and this is against the law according to the Geneva Convention.
Iraq was the world ‘s first in health care ,and had a healthy tourism for people who come from abroad.
Iraq was living , during the siege ,difficult period and the sale of oil was put under embargo , which constitutes 95% of the Iraqi economy, and importing goods and any agricultural equipment necessary for the development of the agricultural sector , or the reform of infrastructure of the sector were forbidden .
In the same period , it was based on the ration card , which was meeting parts of the needs of citizens according to international standards, which such system is still working today in the chaos and hunger atmosphere.
, and after five years of economic blockade in 1995 and the sanctions imposed on Iraq It shows that women and children segment are affected by the siege according to a study carried out by UNICEF, then after that the oil – for – food program was adopted, and the program that was 100% works , but it does not meet the citizens ‘ needs in an integrated manner, and the program is not without suspicions of corruption.
Among sanctions imposed on Iraq , intellectual and scientific sanctions and Technology were imposed noting that even medical, agricultural, and scientific journals in general were forbidden in order not to enter the modern technology to Iraq.
In 1997 , UNICEF found that there are about a million Iraqi children suffer from chronic malnutrition and the organization warned that children are paying the price of economic blockade, it was every two out of five children use one incubator and if disrupted , there are no alternatives.
After 2003, the matter was different as Iraqis were hopeful, but what happened that the civil governor Paul Bremer , head of the coalition authority and civil ruling , who came after the occupation, the owner of the 100 orders , and this is an important point as it is no elected government can change these orders since the are the basis of democracy !. On the agricultural side , Iraq has the pre – 2003 central seed system , or the so – called National Bank for seeds, as it works to develop the seed industry with central control and the well diversity of all kinds of seeds and wheat in the world, as the farmers work on keeping the seeds and replanted, noting that the national seed bank has owned : Which meant that he had the seeds dated back thousands of years, ever since the era of the ancient farmers, but after 2003, and by order of the Bremer , the scientific research and development institutions for the Iraqi seeds were destroyed and corrupting them fully and deliberately , now the seed supply covers only 5% of the energy of seeds during a study conducted in 2005.
And Resolution No. 81 is important , the deliberated order to destroy agriculture in Iraq , the economy, and has a significant impact on Iraq which is under the name of patents law and industrial design and secrecy of information , integrated circuits and the diversity of crops, through the legal use 81 stipulated << the Iraqi farmers must be prevented from using protected seeds and all kinds, and any type mentioned in paragraph 1 & 2 under Article 14, as it states that the Iraqi farmers are not allowed to preserve seeds, and they are not allowed to share it with others, and they are not eligible for re – planting the harvested seeds .
The researcher Wasfi referred to Monsanto company : It is a multinational company engaged in agricultural biotechnology and the largest producer of seeds (regular and genetically modified), the undisputed that holds 70-100% of the markets of various crop seeds in the world.
The company uses these seeds to one harvest season making farmers relied on it to provide grain each year because it was genetically modified, and can not be re – planting its seeds again.
So here lies the interest of companies such as Du, it is a multinational American chemical company, and Cargill grain company noting that their interest here because they work to re made the seeds and possess the seed, the only companies that possess manufactured chemicals for seeds.
And these companies are in real need of a laboratory or field testing, in the company of clumps of grain , there was an agricultural adviser who was appointed in 2003, and a former official at the US FDA, is surprising and knew the overseas companies that operate in all fields such as agriculture, oil and mercenary wars, these are the benefits of wars.
the desire of those companies to use their domesticated seeds in Iraq exclusively, here Iraq becomes a laboratory and field tests of genetically modified seed.
Other important point they just gave to farmers six varieties of wheat, three of them just are fit for the product of pasta, and Iraq is known not eat pasta, this is in case of planting it originally , so half of planting will be for export, then who is the beneficiary and who will get the profits.
Food security in Iraq arrived the state of failure, chaos plaguing Iraq , deliberate destruction of agriculture , no electricity no irrigation , water systems lacked maintenance, making water contaminated with sewage water, Iraq will face a new wave of drought in marshes, and will increase the food crisis in Iraq.
The effect of depleted uranium , which was used against Iraq during the Gulf War , as used about 300 tons, which is a radioactive waste DU more intensity on the face of the earth, and that its effect in the air layers such as spray tray spread with air, soil and water used or breath by human being , when entering the human body , it stays in the lungs and kidneys and its small parts move into the bloodstream regularly.
Which led to the spread of cancer diseases in Iraq, and in a study conducted in 2002 at the College of Veterinary Medicine in Basra have discovered the existence of buffalo cancer, and ovarian adenocarcinoma tumor that affects dogs. And it affects the human beings , too.
Other studies have proven that 600% of infant mortality rates have increased and 300% of blood cancers in children and cancer of the lymph gland were increased .
Decisions (orders) of Bremer that damaged Iraq ‘s economy in addition to previous resolutions No. 81:
Resolution No. 39 allows for the following:
* the privatization of 200 of companies owned by Iraqi state of foreign ownership of100% of Iraqi firms, national treatment for foreign companies, transfer of profits and other funds exempt from taxes and restrictions, property licenses for 40 years,
to explain the law above: to allow US companies operating in Iraq to own every business and work on it , and send all the money to the United States without having to invest the money locally to the service of the Iraqi economy, there is no need to contract with an Iraqi hands, there is no need to ensure public services and too easy to ignore the rights of workers, and companies can withdraw their investment at any time they wish.
Resolution No. 40: Transforming the banking sector in the State Administration to market system driven overnight by allowing foreign banks to enter the Iraqi market and to buy up to 50% of the Iraqi banking .
Resolution No. 12 issued in 2003 and renovated in 2004 that suspension of all customs duties and taxes on imports and additional license fees for goods that enter or leave Iraq, and all other trade restrictions that apply to such goods.
Explanation of the above law: it leads to an immediate and dramatic inflow of cheap consumer products and that the elimination of the national industry and the local distributors for the same products, which affects the gross domestic product in the long run as well.
Resolution No. 17: grants foreign contractors , including private security firms, full immunity from Iraqi laws.
Explanation of the above law: If it caused damage to a third party by killing someone or causing environmental damage, such as throwing chemicals toxic, or water intoxication, the injured party can not resort to the Iraqi legal system, as it must submit charges to the US courts under the auspices of the United States laws.
Resolution No. 77: Create Fedral Board of Supreme Adit and the appointment of their boss , and his two deputies, the Council supervises on the inspectors in each ministry with broad authority to review government contracts and programs of confidential auditing and describe systems and procedures.
Resolution No. 57: an inspector was appointed within each Iraqi Ministry for this purpose to perform the process of audit and writing and policies and he has the right to access to all offices, materials and workers in the ministries.
30 Law on financial management and prevent the export.
Iraqi specialists stressed that decisions of Paul Bremer , head of the CPA , civil and former governor of Iraq, prevented Iraq from exporting many industrial products and raw materials, wondering for the rise of criticism of the Iraqi economy being one – sided economy , while specialists attributed to not to cancel these “unfair” decisions , Until now, as a lot of politicians were turned to dealers.
Industrial expert Majid Hameed said that “industrialists insist on the abolition of Bremer ‘s decision No. 30 on financial management , ” noting that ” the Council is working on it for more than two years, but came to a standstill with the government.”
He explained , “Bremer decisions restricted the private sector and he prevented it from exporting its products and raw materials,” the surprising “not to cancel these decisions , despite what the damage caused to the Iraqi economy.” Stressing that “many experts and economists recommended that ten years ago the need to cancel the unfair decisions of CPA to Iraqi industry .”
He pointed out that those “recommendations fell on deaf ears by lawmakers as a result of lack of understanding of the exact meaning of the industry and the transformation of many politicians to traders profaned the Iraqi market.”
Stressing that ” the abolition of those decisions need to enact a law by the House of Representatives for re – regulating exports and imports according to modern foundations to encourage economic activity and export hubs.”
In a report published by the British charity Oxfam said the US occupation policy after 2003 were behind the spread of financial and administrative corruption as it is now, especially since some of the symbols of this occupation were involved in these operations of corruption, such as the US military commanders in the US army , and some foreign advisers who worked in the Iraqi ministries .
The report said the occupation of Iraq and the sabotage of infrastructure helped the widespread problem of corruption larger than it was in the early nineties of the last century, after the imposition of the economic embargo on Iraq, which led to the emergence of the early financial and administrative corruption in the country, saying that there was misappropriation of funds by 8.8 billion dollars , during the coalition Provisional authority headed by the civil governor of Iraq, Paul Bremer, which encouraged and open the door to corrupt, whether they are Iraqis or foreign contractors with the United States, confirming that the coalition authority is responsible for a large part of the financial and administrative corruption that took place in the country over the past years, the .
As well as here Economic Adviser to the Prime Minister, the Mudher Mohammed Saleh, said that “the decision of the United Alliance, issued in 2003 to Prevent the export of Iraqi goods not only agricultural, outside the country’s authority is still valid,” adding that “the decision to prevent Iraq from exporting dozens of its productive goods as a result of concerns no longer exist today. ”
Saleh added that “several Gulf countries asked to import gravel and cement from Iraq, but Bremer’s decision to prevent that,” noting that the “the export of such material can help in the face of the current economic crisis.” That’s what wrong with our economy being one-sided and suppress non-oil exports.
Economic Adviser to the Prime Minister demanded from the relevant ministries, such as trade, industry to the need to “raise the issue and push for the abolition of Bremer’s decision,” stressing that “the abolition of those decisions need to enact a law by the House of Representatives for re-regulating exports and imports according to modern foundations to encourage economic activity and axes of export “.
For his part, Minister of Industry and Minerals, Mohammad Darraji, said that “hidden bodies works to keep the decisions of Bremer and prevent Iraq from exporting to eliminate the Iraqi industry,” noting that he “called on the House of Representatives to review the decisions of Bremer, also called on the Cabinet to prepare a draft law to eliminate the economic decisions of the authority of the coalition. ”
al – Darraji accused Bremer as ” he intended to hit the industry and turn Iraq into a market for the products of other countries,” adding that “Iraq ‘s production of cement for the past year 2015 reached 20 million tons , while the country ‘s need 17 million only, and it is possible to export the surplus , but Bremer ‘s decision hindered that”.
Today, and firmly the economic and political makers must stand united as one to abolish the unfair decisions of Bremer against the Iraqi people and to stop the farce of subservience and submission to the decisions the do not serve the national interest.
Shatha Khalil
Unit Economic Studies
Translated by : Mudhaffar al-Kusairi
Rawabet Center for Research and Strategic Studies