Senator Blunt says as the President withdraws troops from Afghanistan, he will look closely at how long to keep Missouri’s troops there. The National Guard’s Agribusiness Development Team Five is there now, and Blunt says he’ll keep teams doing noncombat missions there as long as they’re safe, because the work they’re doing is important.

He says he doesn’t mean to say these Agribusiness troops are not soldiers, but if there aren’t enough troops to protect them while they’re teaching Afghan farmers, then they can’t do their jobs well.

The team is trained to help Afghani farmers learn how to plant crops, raise livestock and find clean sources of water. He says moving the Afghan farmers away from growing drugs and toward growing crops and raising livestock is the best way to help them build a stronger country. The Agribusiness Development team started in Missouri.

(AUDIO) Listen to the exerpt from Blunt’s teleconference Mp3 2:10