Under the supervision of Dr. Amira Mohammed Saleh, the Dean of the College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences, a group of professors from the Department of Animal Production, led by Dr. Hussam Jasim Hussain Bananah, the department head, conducted a scientific field visit to Karbala Agricultural City (one of the companies of Al-Ittihad Group), which is one of the largest agricultural projects in the Middle East. The project, established in the heart of the desert through the reclamation of 230 thousand dunams, is an integrated agricultural and poultry project, considered the largest in the Middle East and the Arab world. The project enjoys a strong and distinctive presence in the Iraqi market. Karbala Agricultural City is a unique and comprehensive project in the poultry sector, encompassing all stages of production from start to finish, including breeding of breeders and mothers, production of broiler chickens and layers, as well as packaging and distribution operations.
Additionally, the project includes stages of poultry slaughter, cutting, and processing through a giant slaughterhouse, the second-largest in the world. Moreover, it features an agricultural project for strategic crops using modern techniques, as well as an organic fertilizer factory. All products are offered with very high quality, adhering to the highest standards of quality and sustainability.
The poultry are fed exclusively on plant-based feed during the breeding stages, prepared from the factories of Al-Rayan Company for oil extraction and plant-based feeds, which is also one of the companies of the Al-Ittihad Group.
Karbala Agricultural City includes several companies:
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Sama Al-Rif Company for breeding breeders with a production capacity of 10 million hatching eggs annually.
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Bawadi Karbala Company specialized in the production of broiler chickens with a production capacity of 350 million hatching eggs annually.
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Bawadi Karbala Company specialized in the production of table eggs, producing 3 billion eggs annually under the brand (Sahara).
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Sama Karbala Company specialized in the production of live and slaughtered broiler chickens, cuts, and processed products.
The production capacity of the giant slaughterhouses, numbering 5, is 748,000 chickens per day for whole chickens and 456,000 chickens per day for cuts, under the brands (Al-Rayan) for fresh and frozen products and (Bawadi) for frozen products. The production capacity of the factories is 150 tons per day under the brand (Bawadi), including nuggets, burgers, strips, sausages, and others.
During their visit to the agricultural city, the professors of the Department of Animal Production were acquainted with the production lines, designed and implemented by reputable international companies such as Big Dutchman (Germany), Petersime (Canada), Innovatic, and Marel (Netherlands), among others. The project secures about 25% of the country’s need for various poultry products and has contributed to reducing unemployment rates in three provinces by about 4%, thanks to the employment of 9,000 employees with various specialties. All faculty members expressed their admiration and pride in the technical specifications of the project, as it applies the strictest biosafety measures in addition to using the latest technologies in poultry breeding and production of high-quality animal products, some of which are exported to China.
We extend our best wishes to the esteemed professors for continued success and excellence in their scientific contributions in service to our beloved country.
