With the support of Iran’s Vice Presidential Office for Science and Technology, nine products in food and livestock breeding sectors have been unveiled.
Vice President Sorena Sattari, the head of Agricultural Research Education and Extension Organization, Kambiz Bazargan, the head of Iran Fisheries Organization, Nabiollah Khounmirzaei, the head of Iran Veterinary Organization, Ali Asghar Maken-Ali, and a number of tech officials attended the unveiling event on Saturday.
The first product introduced was Camelina oil developed by Bisotoun Shafa knowledge-based company, the office’s website Isti.ir reported.
The oil is used in food, pharmaceutical, biofuel and health industries.
Camelina sativa is a flowering plant, the oil of which has an exceptionally high level of omega-3 fatty acids, protein and natural antioxidants.
Rouyan Dam company exhibited 2,000 Saanen and Murciano goat species, bred through genetic engineering and in-vitro fertilization.
Saanen goats, which originate from Switzerland, are highly productive species used in the dairy sector.
The effort has been aimed at making up the low genetic power and commercial productivity of domestic animals of Iran.
Murciano-Granadina is the most important dairy goat breed of Spain. They are known for two main traits: high milk production and their ability to remain productive even in dry and nutrient-poor regions.
The unveiled items are part of 160 projects underway to promote food safety in the country
Soroush Sabz tech company based in Alborz Province introduced five livestock breeding products, including food supplements, concentrates and additives, along with a toxin binder for poultries and a plant growth accelerator.
As all Soroush Sabz’s products are currently imported, their mass localiztion can save billions of dollars in the industry.
Rouyesh Paydar Alborz Company (aka Rpabiotech) was the other tech unit exhibiting modified and reinforced fruit saplings for the revival of orchards and gardens.
Arian Fanavaran Company was the other tech unit that produced progesterone-impregnated sponges used for the synchronization of oestrus.
The company argues that unsynchronized animal breeding promotes irregularity in nurturing procedures such as immunization, resulting in lower productivity.
BonDa Tech Group displayed food enzymes used for enriching pastry flours lacking essential vitamins, enzymes and proteins.
The company says only 30% of the wheat produced in Iranian farmlands have an acceptable amount of nutrients while the rest needs to be enriched.
Two vaccines for aquatics were developed by Koushan Company, namely a biological pesticide for greenhouse farming produced by Hegmataneh Company and a vaccine for contagious ecthyma developed by Shaya Company.
Also called Orf, ecthyma is an exanthemous disease caused by a parapox virus that primarily afflicts sheep and goats, and even humans.
Speaking at the event, Sattari said the nine tech products can curb capital flight worth $400 million in case they receive support for mass production.
“The unveiled items are part of 160 projects underway to promote food safety in the country,” he said, hoping that more products will be introduced soon.
Noting that the food industry has been one of the least favorite fields among the tech teams and companies, Sattari said his office has allocated 3.6 trillion rials ($14.57 million) to promote new technologies in the field.
Sattari was optimistic that the endeavors of the government and the technology ecosystem will enable Iran to thwart limitations imposed by the US sanctions on domestic industries.
Stretching Tech Boundaries
Since the government announced its policies on supporting knowledge-based companies and fledgling startups in 2013 when President Hassan Rouhani took office in the first term, the technology ecosystem has flourished in many fields.
Officials believe that tech firms are helping upgrade almost all sectors while gradually transforming traditional economy into a knowledge-based one.
Recently, a startup accelerator signed a deal with Iran National Innovation Fund, affiliated with the vice presidential office, to prepare the ground for tech firms to enter the market of medical and health products.
According to Arian Aqili, the head of the accelerator, the fund will provide startups and knowledge-based companies with financial assistance for producing medical prototypes and carrying out pilot tests.
Instead, he added, the accelerator will receive a share of the tech firms’ profit after they commercialize their products.
Regenerative medicine and tissue engineering, probiotic and functional foods, nanotech-targeted therapy for cancer, scar patches, medicine and health-protective items such as sanitizers are subjects explored by the accelerator.
A similar initiative was launched in late April by INIF with an investment of 140 billion rials ($566,000) in nanotech firms to boost the domestic production of health-protective items used for stemming the transmission of coronavirus.
According to the fund’s website Inif.ir, Iran Nanotechnology Innovation Council helped INIF sign contracts with eligible knowledge-based companies.
Mohammad Ali Bahreini, the head of Nano-Fund Department at the council, said the contracts are geared toward the production of N95 and N99 facemasks needed by the medical staff to fight the Covid-19 outbreak.
The money was also to be spent on upgrading machinery, especially electrospinning machines, used in the production of masks.
Electrospinning is a fiber production method that uses electric force to draw charged threads of polymer solutions or polymer melts up to fiber diameters to the tune of some hundred nanometers.
The method has the potential to produce seamless non-woven items by integrating advanced manufacturing with fiber electrospinning. This would introduce multi-functionality (flame, chemical, environmental protection) by blending fibers into electrospin-laced layers in combination with polymer coatings.
Petrochemical Attainment
Focusing on the petrochemical sector, an Iranian tech firm at Pardis Technology Park in east Tehran has recently developed a high-tech catalyst used to convert naphthas distilled from crude oil (typically having low octane ratings) into high-octane liquid products called reformates, which are premium blending stocks for high-octane gasoline.
According to Hamzeh Kazerouni, the head of tech unit, catalysts currently used in refineries have been imported over a decade ago.
“Catalysts have outlived their usefulness and with the restrictive US sanctions, more catalysts cannot be purchased from foreign sources,” he said.
“Replacing the time-worn ones with new domestic versions can boost the productivity of refineries by around 8%, raising the annual revenue of refineries by $30 million on average.”
Kazerouni` believes that the domestic version is far cheaper and can meet the industry’s demand.
