COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- A South Carolina Army National Guard agricultural development team is heading for training and a year's deployment in Afghanistan.
Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Les Carroll says the unit departs Sunday after a ceremony in Columbia.
The unit, which is composed of about four dozen soldiers, will travel to Camp Atterbury in Indiana before heading to Afghanistan later this spring.
The military's agribusiness units have been working in Afghanistan since 2008. They try to improve irrigation and water management for farmers who lack modern vehicles and traditions.
Once a major exporter of dried fruits, nuts and pomegranates, Afghanistan is now known mainly for growing poppies for the opium trade.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forWACH