FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
For more information contact:
Bill Clary
(502) 564-1137
FRANKFORT, Ky. — Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer joined Kentucky Adjutant General Edward W. Tonini and other dignitaries Monday in seeing a Kentucky National Guard unit off to a special mission in Afghanistan.
The Kentucky Agribusiness Development Team was honored in a departure ceremony at Kentucky State University. The nation’s first joint agribusiness development team, it will train in Camp Atterbury, Ind., before deploying to Afghanistan in August.
“It certainly is an honor and a privilege to be in the presence of greatness,” Commissioner Farmer said to the departing soldiers and airmen.
Commissioner Farmer said the Founding Fathers of the United States understood that a strong agricultural industry is necessary to survive and build a strong economy. “You have been chosen to go and rebuild an agricultural economy in a place … that has known quite a bit of war,” he said.
Commissioner Farmer also honored the families of the departing service men and women. “I know the sacrifices that all of you in the audience, and family members who are not able to be here today, are making,” he said.
Gen. Tonini pointed out that agriculture is the main source of income for 70 percent of the Afghan population. “By helping re-establish and invigorate the Afghan farming tradition and rebuilding the agricultural infrastructure, these troops will bring stability to an otherwise war-torn nation,” he said. “I believe success in this mission can and will make the world a better place for everyone.”
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