TEHRAN- As announced by a provincial official, the development of greenhouses is one of the main programs of Zanjan province’s Agriculture Department.

Rouhollah Hassani, the head of Zanjan province’s Agriculture Department, said that cultivation of greenhouse crops increases production by 10 times compared to open space, and last [Iranian calendar] year (ended on March 20, 2022), permits were issued for the establishment of 29 greenhouses with an area of 12.9 hectares.

He informed about the existence of 33 hectares of active greenhouses in Zanjan province and stated: “Also, 34 hectares of greenhouses are under construction.”

“In total, there are more than 73 hectares of greenhouses in Zanjan province, and our forecast for the production of greenhouse products for this year is more than 19,560 tons”, he added.

The official further announced that 12 permits for the establishment of industrial greenhouses with an area of 3.5 hectares have been issued in the province since the beginning of this year.

In recent years, the water crisis has caused serious challenges in Iran’s agriculture sector.

To solve this problem, several solutions, including the implementation of pressurized irrigation projects and greenhouse cultivation, have been emphasized by experts and officials in this sector.

Iranian Agriculture Ministry’s Greenhouse Development Program is one of the priority projects of this ministry which aims at increasing productivity, efficiency, and water consumption management in the agriculture sector.

The program was approved in the Iranian calendar year 1395 (ended on March 20, 2017) under the framework of the National Resilient Economy Plan.

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

MA/MA