TEHRAN – The head of Iran’s Agricultural Mechanization Development Center said some 50 trillion rials (over $186.7 million) is going to be allocated for the mechanization of the country’s agricultural sectors in the current Iranian calendar year 1401 (started on March 21), IRIB reported.

According to Kambiz Abbasi, if the mentioned funding is provided the Agricultural Mechanization Development Center will be able to increase the total amount of facilities provided to farmers for the purchase of agricultural machinery by 25 percent.

The official noted that the government had allocated 40 trillion rials (about $148.8 million) for agricultural mechanization in the previous calendar year.

The mentioned funding was used to supply about 30,000 tractors, 800 combine machine harvesters, and about 50,000 different agricultural machines and equipment used in various sectors like horticulture, livestock, poultry, and aquaculture to the country’s farmers.

The official further noted that farmers across the country are going to need 50,000 tractors in the current year.

According to Abbasi, the mentioned funds were injected into the ninth credit line that has been opened so far for the development of the country’s agricultural mechanization, and the new resources will be injected into the 10th credit line that is going to be opened this year.

Iranian Agriculture Ministry has been allocating a separate credit line for the mechanization of the agriculture sector every year.

Since over 95 percent of the technology and knowledge in this area is domestic, despite the U.S. sanctions most of the goals in the mechanization of various agriculture sectors will be achieved without any problems, according to Abbasi.

In the past forty years, since the Islamic Revolution, Iran has witnessed a remarkable improvement in various sectors and the agriculture industry has been one of the areas in which the country has undergone huge development.

Implementing billions of dollars worth of development, research, and educational projects across the country is an indication of the significant improvements in this sector.

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