TEHRAN - Iran's Deputy Agriculture Minister Safdar Niazi said the ministry has allocated 18.5 trillion rials (about $35 million) to be provided as facilities to farmers across the country for establishing modern irrigation systems, IRNA reported.

According to Niazi, over 50,000 hectares of farmlands are expected to be equipped with modern irrigation systems by the end of the current crop year (late September).

Stating that more than eight million hectares of land in the country can be equipped with modern irrigation systems, the official said that 4.3 million hectares of farmlands have been equipped with such systems so far.

He further noted that under the framework of the seventh National Development Plan (2023-2027) over 1.75 million hectares of farmlands should be equipped with modern irrigations systems by the end of the mentioned plan which brings the total area of established irrigation systems in the country to 2.1 million hectares.

He stated that currently, 40 percent of the farmlands in the country are equipped with modern irrigation systems 10 percent of which is irrigation networks.

“The irrigation efficiency in the country is 50 percent and the productivity percentage is one and a half kilograms of product for every one square meter of water consumption,” Niazi explained.

Earlier in May, Niazi said that based on the seventh five-year national development plan every year 350,000 hectares of farmlands across the country will be equipped with modern irrigation systems.

“Annual implementation of modern irrigation systems on 350,000 hectares of farmlands during the seventh development plan is one of the tasks of the Ministry of Agriculture, for which appropriate financial resources and requirements must be provided,” Niazi said.

Referring to the construction of irrigation and drainage sub-networks in 1.6 million hectares of the country's farmlands, Niazi said: “So far, 33,000 kilometers of piped water transfer projects and 813,000 hectares of traditional river cover projects have been also implemented across the country.”

The official noted that acceleration of the completion of semi-finished projects, the development of new technologies to improve agricultural water productivity, and strengthening the relationship with universities, research institutions, and specialized organizations are among the most important policies and approaches of the Agriculture Ministry.

Recent droughts in Iran have raised the need to use new methods of irrigation. This issue is especially important in rural areas.

It is necessary to develop modern methods of irrigation and replace them instead of traditional irrigation by farmers due to the lack of water in most areas.

Considering the current situation when the country is facing water challenges, the Agriculture Ministry has been implementing the development plan for new irrigation systems.

The main purpose of implementing the plan of modern irrigation systems is to increase the productivity and sustainability of water and soil resources in the country to ensure the sustainable production of agricultural products.

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

EF/MA