New poultry firm arise in Diyali, Iraq

Dr Wejdi and Hussein Alshammary, businessmen brothers, have started a chicken business in Diyala province - the Iraq Grand Parent Company.

Almost a year ago the brothers received their first shipment of day-old chicks from Arbor Acres, a subsidiary of poultry breeder Aviagen, to serve as the grandfather flock for all of Diyala province.

Since then, they have constructed a hatchery; they breed and sell chicks to poultry farmers, a feed mill, and a slaughter house in Khalis.

To meet the high demand, the brothers are building a new feed mill to expand their production capabilities, just north of Baqubah, the provincial capital of Diyala.

These brothers are also working with the Diyala Provincial Reconstruction Team and the US army to create a chicken feed co-operative.

From this partnership, the brothers received micro-grants of US$5,000 and vouchers to give to 25 chicken farmers, who purchase chicks and feed from their company throughout Diyala province.

''The Alshammary brothers were selected for this project because they have a lot of experience running poultry operations. They are willing to invest significant amounts of their own capital for this project,'' said Mike Rothe, senior economic adviser to the Diyala PRT.