Around 10.2 million tons of wheat was harvested from a total 3.08 million hectares of land since the beginning of the current Iranian year (started March 21, 2014). The number indicates a 10 percent rise in wheat production as compared to the same period last year, Esmaeel Esfandiari, an advisor to the agriculture minister, told MNA on Friday. The Rouhani administration, which came to power last year, has given wheat production a high priority in its economic policy, putting it at the top of its self-sufficiency list. The list includes seven other commodities. Despite its large swaths of unfertile land and deserts, Iran is a large producer of wheat. However, western sanctions and a severe water crisis have forced the government to increase wheat imports. The agriculture ministry has announced it would allocate 13,000 billion rials for investment in modernization of irrigation systems in around 200,000 hectares of farmlands across the country.
