Iran’s Vice Presidential Office for Science and Technology has planned several agricultural technology (agritech) development projects to help promote a sustainable and more profitable farming industry.
According to the report released by the office’s biotechnology division, four agritech projects with an added value of 5 trillion rials ($22.1 million) will soon be implemented in the sector, IRNA reported.
Integrated Plant Nutrient Management is a five-year project, which is already being studied by knowledge-based companies.
The project embraces soil, nutrient, water, crop and vegetation management practices, customized to a particular cropping and farming system.
Aimed at improving soil fertility and land productivity, the project will also help reduce environmental degradation. It also aims to optimize the soil condition, including its physical, chemical, biological and hydrological properties, to boost farm productivity and minimize land degradation, the report said.
The second initiative, a contract farming pilot project, is in the works for cultivating wheat, garlic, onion, tomatoes and oilseeds.
Contract farming is conducted based on an agreement between buyers and farmers, which creates conditions for the production and marketing of a farm product or products.
Typically, the contractee agrees to supply an agreed quantity of a specific agricultural product.
The project has a five-year timeline and the potential to create numerous jobs.
One of the projects is contract farming, which is conducted based on an agreement between buyers and farmers
The third initiative, known as Integrated Pest Management, is an ecological project for controlling pests.
IPM combines the use of biological, cultural and chemical practices to control insect pests in agricultural production. It seeks to use natural predators or parasites to control pests, using selective pesticides for backup only when pests are not controlled by natural means.
According to the vice presidential office, several knowledge-based companies and tech teams are now working on the project's details to make it operational.
Extraterritorial cultivation is the next project, which envisages renting farmlands in other countries for agricultural practices and importing the crops.
Iran is planning to produce maize and other grains through a five-year extraterritorial project.
For water and soil-stressed countries like Iran, the approach is expected to improve food security while also increasing production.
According to industry insiders, large tracts of Iranian landmass are semi-arid and conventional agriculture pile pressure on natural resources like soil and water.
The vice presidential office’s efforts are aimed at lifting this pressure and incorporating modern technologies to the sector.
Water Consumption
In tech-related news, a knowledge-based company Avisa Hydroculture is offering agricultural technology solutions to curb water consumption in the key sector.
It will educate farmers on hydroponics, a form of greenhouse agriculture that involves growing crops without soil and with less water.
Rasoul Rahnamaei, the company’s CEO, said, “Our staff initially prepare analytical reports on the use of light, type of plants, greenhouse quality and other parameters. Later, farmers are taught how to better feed their crops as per hydroponic analyses.”
Hydroponics is a form of horticulture and a branch of hydroculture that involves growing plants in an aqueous solvent without the use of soil. Its technology allows terrestrial plants to grow with only their roots subjected to the nutrient liquid, or with the roots supported by an inert medium such as perlite, gravel, or other substrates.
According to Rahnamaei, fish excrement, duck manure and chemical fertilizers are some of the sources of nutrients used in the hydroponic system.
Pesticides are not used in hydroponic farming and soil contamination does not pose a problem for farmers. Water circulates through the plants during the process and reduces water consumption and cost of farming.
Rahnamaei said hydroponics has several benefits, the most important of which is lower water use.
“Hydroponics uses far less water to grow crops and farmers in harsh environments with limited access to water can upgrade their practices” and make more profit by using these systems, he added.
Iran is facing serious water challenges, as precipitation is declining to hitherto unseen levels, consumption is rising and water mismanagement is continuing.
According to scientific evidence, traditional farming methods need 400 liters of water to grow 1 kilogram of tomatoes, while hydroponics requires 70 liters.
Nanotech Solutions
Environmentalists, academics and economic experts are urging authorities and farmers to embrace nanotechnology for modernizing the agro sector and curbing water use.
Alireza Allafchian, deputy director of the Nanotech Research Center at Isfahan University of Technology, says the efficient management of surface water can have a positive impact on the key farming sector.
“Nanotech water treatment systems store and purify surface waters and reduce evaporation,” he said.
In such systems, nanomembranes are used to soften the water and remove physical, biological and chemical contaminants.
Allafchian noted that nanomaterial has an internal structure or surface structure in the nanoscale – with a length ranging approximately from 1 nm to 100 nm.
Nanotechnology increases crop productivity and minimizes pesticide application by using nanoparticle-mediated gene or DNA transfer in plants.
“Genetic modification of crops, reduction of agricultural waste and higher yields with the use of nano-biocompatible materials are some of the benefits of nanotechnology,” he said.
Nanotech’s contribution to farming includes the use of nano-formulations of chemicals for developing pesticides and fertilizers, nanosensors for crop protection, identification of disease and chemical residues, employment of nano-devices for genetic engineering of plants and improvement of postharvest management.
Agricultural Drones
The public and private sectors’ support for technology ecosystem has increased the use of technology in farming.
Last year, a private knowledge-based company announced the indigenization of drones for assisting farmers.
“Sabokbal Helia Aseman Company designs and manufactures agricultural drones used in farms,” Mohsen Siadatnejad, the company’s managing director, said.
“Foreign drones are costly while domestic knowledge-based firms are manufacturing small aircraft at lower costs,” he added.
An agricultural drone is an unmanned aerial vehicle used by farmers to help increase crop production and monitor crop growth. Sensors and digital imaging capabilities give farmers a clearer picture of their fields. The information can be useful in improving crop yield and farm efficiency.
Agricultural drones let farmers see their fields from the sky. The bird's-eye view can reveal many issues, including irrigation problems, soil variation and pest and fungal infestations.
Multispectral images show a near-infrared and visual spectrum view. They show differences between healthy and unhealthy plants, a difference not always clearly visible to the naked eye, which can help assess crop growth and production.
Data provided to farmers can also help cut the use of pesticides and optimize water consumption.
The use of different technologies in agricultural fields can only increase when farmers are made familiar with their benefits and ways of using them.
