More than 180,400 hectares of farmland were equipped with modern irrigation systems in the last Iranian year (March 2017-18), the chairman of Modern Irrigation Systems Project undertaken by the Agriculture Ministry said.
This, Abbas Zare’ added, helps save up to 1.33 billion cubic meters of water per year, increase yield by 30% and decrease seed, fertilizer and pesticide use by 25% each, Mehr News Agency reported.
According to Hamidreza Janbaz, an advisor to the deputy for water and soil affairs with the Agriculture Ministry, there are 8.5 million hectares of irrigated farmland and orchards across Iran, 4.5 million hectares of which meet the conditions to be equipped with modern irrigation systems.
“At present, the overall land surface equipped with under pressure irrigation systems in the country stands at 1.7 million hectares. So there remains 2.8 million hectares (out of the above-mentioned 4.5 million hectares). The Sixth Five-Year Development Plan (March 2017-22) stipulates that such systems have to be installed across 600,000 hectares per year. If we reach the annual goals, we will have covered the remaining areas by the end of the plan,” he was quoted as saying by IRNA.
Agriculture Minister Mahmoud Hojjati said the government will cover 85% of expenses involved in the modernization of irrigation systems in farms and orchards in the form of subsidies.
“Unlimited banking facilities will be granted to farmers in this regard,” he said. Iran is suffering from an acute shortage of water.
Hojjati said the government plans to restrict cultivation of crops in areas where underground water resources have dipped to alarming levels.
