40 plastic houses to be distributed to Najaf farmers

NAJAF / IraqiNews.com: The Agricultural Guidance Department in Najaf will distribute 40 plastic houses to local farmers at subsidized prices in an attempt to boost the agricultural situation in the province, the head of the department said on Tuesday. “The department will carry out a number of guidance projects in the province to support the agricultural sector,” Engineer Jawad Hassan told IraqiNews.com. The farmer will pay 20 percent of the price of the house, while the department will pay the rest, Hassan explained. Najaf, about 160 km south of Baghdad, has an estimated population of 900,600 in 2008, though this has increased significantly since 2003 due to immigration from abroad. The city is one of the holiest cities of Shiite Islam and the center of Shiite political power in Iraq. Najaf is renowned as the site of the tomb of Ali ibn Abi Taleb (also known as “Imam Ali”), whom Shiites consider to be the righteous caliph and first imam. The city is now a great center of pilgrimage from throughout the Shiite Islamic world. It is estimated that only Mecca and Medina receive more Muslim pilgrims. The Imam Ali Mosque is housed in a grand structure with a gilded dome and many precious objects in its walls. SS (S) 1