The motion to impeach Agriculture Minister Mahmoud Hojjati scheduled in the parliament on Sunday was called off after all sponsors of the motion withdrew their names.
“The Majlis Agriculture Commission and signatories of the petition held a meeting with the agriculture minister … Both sides were determined to prioritize mutual cooperation, especially at present when the [draft] budget bill is being reviewed [by lawmakers],” Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani was quoted as saying by IRNA.
During the meeting, Larijani added, they discussed issues of concern, including the wheat price, farming methods, watershed and qanat management, modern irrigation, greenhouse systems and agricultural import and export.
“It was agreed to allocate a larger budget to the agriculture sector and suitably address farmers’ issues,” he added.
The impeachment motion had been submitted on Nov. 28 to the Majlis Presiding Board.
After its revision by the Majlis Agriculture Commission, it was referred back to the presiding board on Dec. 18 with the names of 44 signatories, well above the threshold to launch an impeachment process.
As per the parliament’s procedural law, at least 10 lawmakers should sign the motion.
The hearing had first been slated for last Wednesday but was postponed to Sunday, as it coincided with the funeral of Ayatollah Seyyed Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, the late chairman of Expediency Council.
Hojjati was to be questioned about his perceived failure to properly implement the law on the guaranteed purchase of agricultural products, provisions concerning the agriculture sector in the annual budget plan, exemptions on interests, commissions and late payment fees for loans paid to farmers suffering losses from unexpected incidents.
The minister had already faced impeachment in March but managed to survive a vote of no-confidence.
At the time, Hojjati was questioned about his failure to reduce the unnecessary import of agriculture products, inability to find new export markets and non-implementation of modern cultivation techniques and technologies to preserve natural resources, among others, but the parliamentarians were convinced by his explanations and voted to keep him in office.
