Rice Farming Banned in Khuzestan

Rice cultivation in the southern Khuzestan Province will be banned as of the upcoming crop year starting on March 21, the deputy head of Khuzestan Agricultural Jihad Organization said.
“This is due to the water shortage facing the country. We advise farmers to cultivate alternative crops such as pulses, sunflowers, soybeans and fodder, which are less water-intensive,” Mohammad Qaseminejad was also quoted by Mehr News Agency as saying.
The official added that land under rice cultivation in Khuzestan has declined from between 97,000 and 98,000 hectares five years ago to less than 40,000 hectares at present.
Agricultural and environment experts have been urging the government for years to restrict rice farming to the water-rich provinces of Gilan and Mazandaran, which are home to the majority of Iran’s paddy fields, and to ban the activity in the rest of the country.