Babylon province in Iraq is part of what was once known as the country's so-called 'Triangle of Death.' The area witnessed extremely high levels of violence during earlier periods of the current war in Iraq.

Because the region is transforming, the US Grains Council and the Iraq Poultry Fund (IPF) are working to help rebuild the country's poultry industry following its collapse after the start of the first Gulf War.

"The problem is supplying that region with feed grains to sustain the remarkable comeback within the poultry sector," said Ken Hobbie, USGC president and CEO, and IPF chairman of the board of trustees.

"The feed grains still have to come from the northern regions of Iraq, which further emphasizes the need to establish more trade companies to service the substantial growth in demand," he said.

The Council works cooperatively with the IPF board of trustees to rebuild Iraq's poultry industry and create export opportunities for US feed grains.

To date, two Iraqi feed trade companies have been established to generate additional demand for feed grains by bringing more poultry producers into a unified group with greater buying power.

Now Babylon province is one of Iraq's largest poultry producing areas, according to USGC Project Director for Iraq Dr. Abdellah Ait Boulahsen. "The region now produces about 1,500 metric tons of poultry meat per month," Dr Boulahsen said.