TEHRAN – 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.

In this regard, and on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, a press conference was held at the agriculture ministry in Tehran on Wednesday in which the Supreme Leader’s representative to the ministry presented some of the Islamic Revolution’s achievements in the agricultural sector.

Agriculture
Starting his remarks, Seyed Reza Taqavi mentioned revolutionizing the agriculture industry through implementing billions of dollars’ worth of development, research and educational projects across the country as one of the main reasons for the significant improvements in this sector during the past 40 years.

According to the official, the production at the country’s agricultural sector has increased by six-fold over the past 40 years (since the Islamic Revolution).

“Our Agriculture is moving toward a systematic, knowledge-based and modern future on a very desirable pace and Iran will be an agricultural hub in the region and one of the biggest producers of agricultural products in the world in the next 15 years.” Taqavi said.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Supreme Leader’s representative noted that currently over 9000 agriculture experts are supervising the process of producing agricultural products across the country to insure the highest quality and quantity.

Taqavi further mentioned the management of water resources in the country saying that, “By using new methods of irrigation and water management systems in the country’s dry regions and also by cultivating products that have less water requirement in those regions we could help preserving the country’s water resources while maintaining or even improving our production levels.”

In this regard in December 2018 Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) and Agriculture Ministry signed an agreement to increase agricultural production by 2.2 kilograms per square meter of water used in cultivation by 2026.

Iran is situated in a dry plateau with limited water resources. Tehran has been trying in recent years to decrease water consumption in its agriculture sector by introducing new irrigation methods.  

Foodstuff production

Mentioning the production of foodstuff, the official noted that in the poultry and fishery sectors the agriculture ministry has been promoting new methods of breeding and genetic engineering in order to increase the efficiency of production in this sectors.

“Iran is currently 82 percent self-sufficient in producing foodstuff while we were mainly an importer of agricultural and foodstuff products before the Islamic Revolution.” Taqavi said.

According to Deputy Agriculture Minister Abbas Keshavarz, the country's self-sufficiency rate in wheat production has increased from 65 percent in the Iranian calendar year of 1392 (March 2013-March 2014) to 105 percent in the current year (which ends on March 20, 2019).

In addition to supplying the domestic needs, foodstuff account for a significant part of Iran’s non-oil exports.

Dairy products, sweets, saffron, tomato paste, juices and concentrates, animal food, poultry and aquaculture, yeast, pasta, as well as wheat flour and potato products are some of the main items exported from Iran to the world markets.

Halal industry

Elsewhere in his remarks, Taqavi mentioned the Halal industry and Iran’s position as one of the Islamic world’s most significant countries in this newly flourishing industry.

According to the official, despite the country’s great potentials and capacities, unfortunately the share of Iran in the global Halal trade is only 0.7 percent.

“This is very unfortunate and the ministry [agriculture ministry] has plans to improve our position to a more desirable place in this lucrative industry.” He underscored.

Taqavi further noted that lack of a comprehensive organization which could be in charge for handling the Halal business and industry is one of the main reasons that Iran’s share of the Halal market is not what the country deserves.

Agricultural achievements exhibition

Finally, the official mentioned holding an exhibition on the achievements of the country’s agricultural sector in the last 40 years.

The agricultural achievements exhibitions which is due to be held during March 4-5 at Tehran's Imam Khomeini Grand Prayer Grounds (Mosalla) will be a showcase for presenting Iranian agriculture sector’s achievements since the Islamic Revolution.

Different subsidiaries of the agriculture ministry along with the private sector, startups as well as knowledge-based companies and institutions will be presenting their latest achievements and products in this exhibition.

EF/MA