TEHRAN- As announced by a provincial official, 1,249 hectares of lands have been equipped with modern irrigation systems in Sistan-Baluchestan province, in the southeast of Iran, in the past Iranian calendar year 1401 (ended on March 20).

Hossein-Ali Ramroudi, the acting director of water and soil in the province’s Agriculture Department, put the fund to implement modern irrigation projects in the province at 450 billion rials (about $958,000) in the previous year.

He said that with an average annual rainfall of 100 mm, Sistan-Baluchestan is considered one of the provinces with low rainfall, and in order to use the available water of water sources, it is necessary and vital to use modern systems for irrigating the agricultural fields and gardens.

According to the project manager of Iranian Agriculture Ministry’s smart irrigation systems development program, the purpose of implementing this plan is to increase the productivity and sustainability of water and soil resources in the country to ensure the sustainable production of agricultural products.

Fariborz Abbasi, who is the head of the Agriculture Ministry’s Water and Soil Department, has said in smart agriculture human intervention in irrigation management and planning is minimized by using new technologies,” he explained.

Over the past four years, each year, an average of 150,000 hectares of farmlands have been equipped with modern irrigation systems, and we have witnessed a 300 percent jump, the official has stated.

The Agriculture Ministry is also taking the necessary measures for supporting the domestic manufacturing of equipment used in these systems.

MA