WESTERN Australian farmer and company director Trevor Flugge has been appointed to take a lead role in the reconstruction of Iraq’s agricultural sector.
Mr Flugge will lead a team of Australian agricultural and food security advisers to Iraq. He will make an early visit to the region to assess conditions and to identify immediate priorities for Australian assistance.
Mr Flugge said he would be working alongside a team from the US, which has also been appointed for the task.
Mr Flugge will be working full time from Baghdad for up to nine months.
Mr Flugge is a current director of WA public company Wesfarmers and of Australian Wool Services. He is also the chairman of the CSIRO Agribusiness Advisory Council. He was a former chairman of the Australian Wheat Board and AWB Ltd, which provided him a strong understanding of the Middle East.
Mr Flugge is a fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering and WA chairman of the Crawford Fund.
Australia is expected to be well-placed to assist in the revitalisation of Iraq’s agricultural sector, particularly in areas such as dryland agriculture, grain distribution, irrigation and combating salinity problems.