Due to the support of the Tropical Agriculture Association (TAA), I was awarded the opportunity to travel to Iraqi Kurdistan in order to fulfil research objectives that would compliment my dissertation topic relating to the socio-economic impact of landmines on agriculture.

Undertaking research at the field level proved invaluable in cultivating my understanding of my designated study area. Despite having reviewed a large volume of written material on the subjects of both landmines and Iraqi Kurdistan before deployment to northern Iraq, my field research conducted in the region significantly changed supposedly well-informed pre-conceptions based solely on academic literature and inspired a considerably greater awareness of the study area.

Having departed for the country in the belief that the agricultural sector within Iraqi Kurdistan was largely inhibited from growth by the continued presence of landmine contamination, I left with the understanding that, due to the longevity of the landmine presence in the region, people have to some degree adapted to such contamination. Furthermore, my field research enabled me to conclude that landmines play a comparatively small role in the continuing decline of the sector when measured against other larger problems relating to urban migration, reduction in government farming subsidy, UN embargoes placed on the country during the 1990s and a changing attitude between the people and the land.

By being awarded the opportunity to conduct research at the field level, I believe that the TAA have enabled me to develop an informed and educated understanding of my chosen research topic and the experience has not only provided me with excellent foundations in which to pursue a PhD on the subject; it has also left me both confident and well-positioned to pursue a future career in the field of International Development.