I. Introduction II. Revenue generation

1969. Field surveys for whitefly infestation in citrus orchards showed that the infestation in thisseason is less compared to the same period of past year. A spraying campaign, which started inApril 2002, is still ongoing. A total area of 27,060 hectares, out of the targeted 33,250 wassprayed to date, resulting in good control of the pest. However, there will be a critical need forthe second round of spraying in September. If the shortage of pesticides continues, the campaignplanned for this September will not take place.70. The status of the contracts for sprayers, pesticides, and vaccines is a matter of concern, asnon-availability of these items already has severe direct negative effects on agriculturalproduction in the centre/south. Under the new set of contract processing procedures establishedin resolution 1409 (2002), these essential items fall under list A, prepared pursuant to paragraph18 of these procedures. For the time being, the only possibility to obtain approval for the importof the vaccines may be to place them under United Nations custody from the time of their arrivaluntil their distribution to the end-users. The Government of Iraq has requested FAO to studysuch an option, applying similar conditions which were used for import and distribution ofagriculture helicopter spare parts. Such an arrangement is under active consideration by theGovernment and FAO.71. Based on a request of the Government of Iraq, two FAO experts carried out, betweenMay and June 2002, a mission to examine the difficulties related to the diseases and quality ofpoultry feed, which resulted in some cases of over 70 per cent mortality in layer farms that hadpreviously been reported. Their final report, released in June 2002, made three mainrecommendations: to improve the availability of reliable poultry vaccines by establishing a fasttrackapproval procedure to import them from reliable sources; to strengthen the poultry diseasesdiagnosis and feed analysis capacities by providing all the necessary laboratory equipment,growth media, diagnostics kits and reagents; and to supply regularly good quality feedingredients. The consultants also recommended improvements in the overall management of thePoultry Revival Programme (PRP) as well as in the procurement process of vaccines and feed.The prevailing diseases and bad quality feed in poultry production threaten to diminish theachievements of the PRP, established in 1998 by the Government of Iraq, following arecommendation by the Secretary-General to increase the production of animal protein in thecountry. The PRP is supported by inputs imported under the Programme. Achievements of thePRP were evaluated by the United Nations field mission. The production of poultry meatincreased from 50,000 metric tons in 1999 to 100,000 metric tons in 2001 and the production oftable eggs from around 230 million eggs in 1999 to 460 million eggs in 2001. This representedan increase of 100 per cent in both meat and egg production. Comparative figures for 2002would be provided to the Security Council Committee when they become available.72. Three surveys among farmers of centre/south of Iraq on sunflower cultivation, maizehusbandry and the distribution system carried out by the United Nations in September/October2001, November 2001 and February 2002 were completed. The results indicated thatProgramme inputs, particularly pesticides and herbicides, covered only 20 per cent of the needsof the farmers. The maize survey showed that there was a 10-30 per cent increase in cultivatedarea, 20-40 per cent in total production and 20 per cent in the number of growers, in average.The system of agents had facilitated access of farmers to agricultural inputs, enhanced theirtimely distribution and improved transmission of technical knowledge. The majority of