TEHRAN- The director-general of the tropical and semi-tropical fruits office of Iran’s Agriculture Ministry warned against the use of traditional horticultural methods due to climate changes and rising air temperatures, and emphasized that using modern horticulture methods is necessary to deal with climate change.

Zahra Jalili-Moqaddam reiterated that due to climate changes and increasing air temperature in the country, traditional management and methods of production in tropical and subtropical gardens are no longer the answer, and modern horticultural technologies and methods should be used.

Currently, orchards are the most important center of production of agricultural products for export in Iran, and horticulture is the most central sector in the country’s agricultural export.

Therefore, the implementation of the orchard reform plan of the Agriculture Ministry, which is effective in the quality of production and the increase of gardeners’ income, plays a noticeable part in the export of garden products.

In this due, the development of horticulture, improvement of gardens, development of dense cultivation to increase yield per unit area, use of modern irrigation systems, use of canopy to reduce risks in the horticulture sector, and increase the quality of produced products are among the most important programs in progress in the field of horticulture in the country.

The Ministry of Agriculture has also conducted negotiations with companies that manufacture tools, equipment, and tractors for the development of mechanization in the field of horticulture in order to improve the mechanization factor in this field.

According to Mohammad-Mehdi Boroumandi, the deputy agriculture minister for horticulture affairs, Iran has a special position in the field of horticulture.

The official says that all researchers believe that the advantage of Iran’s agriculture sector is horticulture because it creates more employment and brings a good foreign currency income.

He has mentioned the renovation of gardens as one of the important programs of the ministry and said: “The capacity of agricultural production in the country is more than this and should be increased.”

Referring to the important role of farmers and gardeners in maintaining food security, he pointed out that apart from four tropical fruits including bananas, coconuts, mangoes, and pineapples, the country is completely self-sufficient in providing other agricultural products.

Underlining that Iran has achieved good success in the field of food security, Boroumandi pointed out that the Ministry of Agriculture, as the ministry of food security, despite the climatic problems and all the economic constraints, has managed to earn good foreign currency in addition to meeting the domestic needs and food security of the country.

Back in January, the official said the Agriculture Ministry is trying to manage production by identifying new export target markets.

“Production, which is more than consumption, can be included in the country's trade basket. In this regard, the Ministry of Agriculture is trying to experience an increase in production per surface unit by implementing regular programs”, he added.

MA