A total of 4,600 hectares of greenhouses will be constructed or expanded in the current Iranian year (started March 20), according to the director of Agriculture Ministry’s “Greenhouse Expansion Project”.
“About 2,500 hectares will be launched by the yearend and the remaining 2,100 hectares will become operational over the first half of next year,” Habib Radfar was quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency as saying.
The official added that these projects will be funded through the National Development Fund of Iran, banks and revenues derived from the targeted subsidies scheme.
The construction of Iran’s largest greenhouse complex recently began on 100 hectares in North Khorasan Province’s Shirvan Country.
A groundbreaking ceremony in May was attended by Agriculture Minister Kazem Khavazi, North Khorasan Governor General Mohammad Ali Shojaei, and Abdolreza Azizi, the head of Majlis Social Commission and MP representing Shirvan.
A total of 4 trillion rials ($22.22 million) will be invested in this project.
“Greenhouse area in Iran has increased from 8,800 hectares in the fiscal 2013-14 when President Hassan Rouhani first took office to around 18,000 hectares. Greenhouses can offer significant help in creating jobs, increasing exports and granting food security,” Khavazi was quoted as saying by the news portal of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting.
Shojaei said 44% of the population in North Khorasan live in rural areas and 36% make a living though agricultural activities.
“The northeastern province ranks 17th in the country in terms of land under agricultural cultivation, but 28th in production volume. This shows that we need to employ modern methods and technology in our agriculture sector in North Khorasan,” he said.
Latest data show $500 million worth of greenhouse crops were exported from Iran in the fiscal 2018-19, which showed a more than twofold increase compared with the previous year.
Iran is home to a meager 0.3% of the world’s greenhouses yet it ranks second globally in greenhouse expansion after Mexico.
The Agriculture Ministry plans to transfer all vegetable farms to greenhouses to save 10 billion cubic meters of water per year.
According to Deputy Agriculture Minister Mohammad Ali Tahmasebi, the construction of every 1 square meter of a greenhouse in Iran costs between $1,000 and $2,000.
