TEHRAN- The annual production of fruits and vegetables in Tehran Province’s greenhouses is planned to reach 820,000 tons in the current Iranian calendar year (ends on March 20, 2021), the head of the province’s Agriculture Department announced.

Karim Zolfaqari put the province’s annual greenhouse fruit, vegetable output at 750,000 tons in the past year, IRNA reported on Tuesday.

The official also said that 323 hectares of new greenhouses were created in the province during the previous year, putting Tehran on top of the list of provinces in this regard.

As reported by the Agriculture Ministry, Habib Radfar has said that the new greenhouses being created, the total greenhouse area in the country will reach 4,600 hectares.

He further mentioned that of the 2,500 hectares projected for this year, some 1,200 hectares will be created in the current year, but will be put into operation in the first half of the next year (March 21-September 21, 2021).

As previously announced by the managing director of Ferdows Pars Agricultural and Livestock Holding, Iran is anticipated to produce 5,000 tons of fruits and vegetables in the greenhouses throughout the country in the current Iranian calendar year.

Azim Rajaei said that 80 percent of Iran’s greenhouse fruits and vegetables are exported.

Also as announced by the managing director of Iran’s Agricultural Parks Company (APC), over 7,250 hectares of land has been allocated to be developed as agricultural parks.

Some 1,500 hectares of fishery parks and 600 hectares of livestock, poultry, and aquaculture parks are also planned to be inaugurated this year, Ali Ashraf Mansouri said.

He further noted that APC has registered a request for 40 trillion rials (about $952 million) of bank facilities for implementing development projects.

The parks will be awarded to capable companies without any specific limitations, and facilities will also be provided for development in three areas of the greenhouse, aquaculture, as well as livestock and poultry.

Development of the country’s agricultural parks not only is going to create new job opportunities but also increases the country’s non-oil exports and helps to preserve the environment and the national water and soil resources.

Back in March, Mansouri had announced that 8.3 trillion rials (about $197.6 million) of facilities were paid for the development of agricultural parks across the country since the beginning of the past calendar year (March 21, 2019) up to March 11.

According to the official, the mentioned facilities were paid for development or construction of various agricultural parks including greenhouses, fisheries, and aquaculture, as well as livestock and poultry.

MA/MA