TEHRAN - The head of Iran Agricultural Information Sciences and Technology (IAIST) said the agricultural sector of the country will enter the world of metaverse to improve productivity.

Hossein Farazmand made the comments on the sidelines of the Iran Efficiency Exhibition, adding that the use of communications and information technology is one of the issues raised to increase efficiency and productivity in the agricultural sector.

In this regard, giant steps have been taken in the country to make the agricultural sector smarter, he said, adding that projects like smart irrigation and the use of the Internet of Things (IoT) are underway.

Farazmand pointed out that the first ‘metaverse’ platform in Iran’s agricultural sector was launched in cooperation with a knowledge-based company so that the agricultural and horticultural products of Iran’s Ministry of Agriculture can be presented on this virtual space.

It is also hoped that the agricultural companies of the private sector would supply their products in this virtual space as well, the head of Iran Agricultural Information Sciences and Technology (IAIST) stated. 

Earlier this month, Iran’s Minister of Agriculture said his ministry is concentrating on export-based production in the current Iranian calendar year (started March 20, 2024).

Speaking in a meeting with senior managers of the ministry, Mohammad Ali Nikbakht said more than $1.0 billion of agricultural products were exported from the country in the previous Iranian calendar year (March 21, 2023, to March 19, 2024), showing a 13 and 23 percent hike in weight and value respectively compared to a year earlier.

He pointed to the current year’s motto “Production Jump with the People’s Participation” and added that his ministry will make efforts to materialize the objectives of the motto.

Nikbakht called on the responsible organizations and companies to provide exporters of agricultural products with the necessary facilities in order to spur exports and export activities.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the agriculture minister termed investing in the aquaculture and fisheries sectors as an opportunity for realizing the goals of the production jump, noting that fisheries and aquaculture sectors have ample capacities and can also improve the productivity of soil and water.

The value of Iran’s exports of agricultural and foodstuff products increased by 22.5 percent in the previous Iranian calendar year, the spokesman of the International Relations and Trade Development Committee of Iran's House of Industry, Mining and Trade said.

According to Ruhollah Latifi, Iranian producers managed to export about $6.3 billion worth of the mentioned products in the said year.

As reported, agro-food products accounted for 12.8 percent of the country’s total non-oil exports in the previous year.

Iraq was the top destination for Iran’s agro-food products in the mentioned year importing $1.986 billion worth of the said items. The Arab neighbor accounted for 31.5 percent of the total exports of food and agricultural products from Iran.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) stood in second place, importing $751 million of the mentioned products, followed by Russia with $521.5 million.

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