TEHRAN - Iran has set a target to expand its overseas farming to 2 million hectares (4.942 million acres) by 2029 amid efforts to ensure sufficient food supplies in the country.

An official in the Iranian Agriculture Ministry has said that the target to expand overseas farming has been mentioned in a five-year vision plan that will end in the calendar year 1407 (ending March 2029).

Reza Fotouhi, who leads overseas farming projects in the ministry, said expanding farming activity in other countries helps Iran reduce its reliance on food imports.

Fotouhi said that Iran is also required to rely on overseas farming for 10 million metric tons of food imports by 2031 based on the terms of a document outlining Iran’s food security efforts.

He said that the country is currently using some 0.228 million hectares of land for farming in other countries.

The official added that lands used for corn farming in Brazil by Iranian companies had reached 50,000 hectares, adding that the country is also engaged in overseas farming of barley, oil seeds, and soybean in Kazakhstan and also in smaller projects in Belarus and Russia.

He said private Iranian companies have also launched overseas farming projects in Ghana, Armenia, and Pakistan.

Iran has introduced major plans to boost its agricultural output in recent years as it strives to keep pace with rising food demand.

The country has a population of more than 85 million people and a rising demand for food which experts say could become the subject of threats like climate change and foreign sanctions in the future.

EF/