TEHRAN- As announced by a provincial official, 2,000 hectares of farmlands in North Khorasan province, in the northeast of Iran, has been planned to be equipped with modern irrigation systems by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2023).

Ebrahim Seyedi, the director for water, soil, technical and engineering affairs in the province’s Agriculture Department, said that for implementing such project over one trillion rials (about $3.57 million) of credit is required.

The official said that 250 billion rials (about $900,000) of facilities has been paid for the establishment of modern irrigation systems in 1,200 hectares of the province’s farmlands over the past year.

Last week, the project manager of Agriculture Ministry’s smart irrigation systems development program said that 25,000 hectares of the country’s farmlands have been equipped with modern irrigation systems in the first five months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21 – August 22).

Fariborz Abbasi, who is the head of the Agriculture Ministry’s Water and Soil Department, said his ministry is planning to establish modern irrigation systems for 50,000 hectares of farmlands in the current year (ends on March 20, 2023).

The deputy agriculture minister noted that this year the ministry has allocated 15 trillion rials (about $52 million) for the implementation of new irrigation systems, of which 15 percent has been spent so far.

He pointed to the supply and production of equipment for modern irrigation systems inside the country and said: "With the cooperation and help of domestic knowledge-based companies, we have reached self-sufficiency in the production of equipment and supplies for these systems."

Abbasi further mentioned his ministry’s smart agriculture program and said that the smartening projects are being implemented on 4,000 hectares of the country's farmlands as a pilot in 13 provinces.

“In smart agriculture human intervention in irrigation management and planning is minimized by using new technologies,” he explained.

The official expressed hope that considering the budget allocation for the provinces at the beginning of the current Iranian year, the ministry would be able to develop the project in terms of both quantity and quality.

The 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.

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

Back in September 2021, Abbasi had said that 95 percent of the equipment used in such systems is manufactured inside the country.

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

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.”

MA/MA