TEHRAN - The project manager of the Agriculture Ministry’s smart irrigation systems development program has said 95 percent of the equipment used in such systems is manufactured inside the country, IRNA reported.

Fariborz Abbasi said the ministry has comprehensive plans for indigenizing the knowledge for the production of the other five percent as well.

He pointed to the filters and drippers in modern irrigation systems as the equipment whose indigenization is on the agenda and predicted: “In a two- or three-year plan, part of the imported equipment and supplies will be produced by domestic manufacturers.”

Abbasi mentioned the quality improvement of modern irrigation systems as one of the main strategies of the Agriculture Ministry and said: "We believe that along with the quantitative development of new irrigation systems, quality improvement should also take place to improve productivity and ensure food security by increasing water efficiency in the best possible way.”

He further underlined educating farmers, officials, and managers of companies active in the field of production and implementation of new irrigation systems as one of the programs that his ministry is pursuing in order to improve the quality and optimal use of these systems.

Referring to the activity of 2,400 private companies in the development of new irrigation systems in the agricultural sector, Abbasi said: “The private sector in this field includes 350 consulting companies, 1,600 contractors, 400 manufacturers and suppliers of equipment, and a number of monitoring firms.”

“It is necessary to provide the necessary training to these companies for design, consulting, contracting, execution, and production of parts and equipment in this field,” he added.

Back in August, Abbasi announced that the ministry plans to equip 5,000 hectares of farmlands with smart irrigation systems in the current Iranian calendar year (started on March 21).

Considering the importance of water consumption management in the agricultural sector, the Iranian Agriculture Ministry has been implementing a plan for installing modern irrigation systems in the country’s farmlands over the past few years and the new program for smartening these systems will increase their efficiency to a great extent.

Over the past three years, each year, an average of 150,000 hectares of farmlands have been equipped with modern irrigation systems, according to the ministry data.

EF/MA