Only one-third of Iran’s land area is suitable for farming, but because of poor soil and lack of water, only 12% of this area are under cultivation (arable land, orchards and vineyards).
Less than one-third of the cultivated area is irrigated and the rest is devoted to dry farming.
To overcome conventional agricultural problems such as water scarcity, lack of equipment and soil erosion, farmers have embraced innovative ways to optimize scarce resources.
With the advancement of technology in the country, efforts are being made for transforming traditional agriculture into a tech-based, efficient and productive industry.
In line with this objective, Iran organized a permanent agritech exhibition at the iHiT Center in Tehran for entrepreneurs and startups to introduce their products to domestic and foreign agricultural firms, adopt agro technology and increase exports.
According to the Vice Presidential Office for Science and Technology, the main sponsor of the fair, over 30 knowledge-based companies in the agriculture section have presented 100 products in a variety of fields such as water treatment, irrigation, soil enrichment, eco-friendly pesticides, ecological composts, hybrid seeds, food enzymes, fruit shop applications and herbal medicine.
Visiting the exhibition on Tuesday, Vice President for Science and Technology Sorena Sattari said Iran’s agriculture has high potentials for integrating modern technologies, noting that farmers have become accustomed to traditional farming practices and are resistant to new strategies.
“To address the issue, the vice presidential office and the Agriculture Ministry decided to initially employ farming technology that has proven successful on a small-scale before taking larger steps,” he said.
“A wide gamut of challenges facing the domestic farming sector can be tackled only through the application of new technology, as existing solutions have so far failed to deliver.”
Agriculture Minister Javad Sadatinejad stated that the attainments displayed in the exhibition are good news for domestic agriculture and entrepreneurs because they can help generate wealth and strengthen their position in the domestic economy, while enhancing added value and food safety of farming sector.
The minister noted that support for the technology ecosystem will continue until Iran’s age-old agriculture is fully upgraded with smart technologies.
AgriTech Development Plans
Besides giving support to knowledge-based teams and startups, the vice presidential office has also planned several projects to help promote a sustainable and more profitable farming industry.
According to the report earlier released by the office’s biotechnology division, four agritech projects with an added value of 5 trillion rials ($18 million) will soon be implemented in the sector.
Integrated Plant Nutrient Management is a five-year project, which is already being studied by knowledge-based companies.
The project revamps soil, nutrient, water, crop and vegetation management practices, customized to a particular cropping and farming system.
Aimed at improving soil fertility and land productivity, the project will also help reduce environmental degradation.
It also optimizes soil condition, including its physical, chemical, biological and hydrological properties, to boost farm productivity and minimize land degradation, the report said.
The second initiative, a contract farming pilot project, is in the works for cultivating wheat, garlic, onion, tomatoes and oilseeds.
Contract farming is conducted based on an agreement between buyers and farmers, which creates conditions for the production and marketing of a farm product or products.
Typically, the contractee agrees to supply an agreed quantity of a particular agricultural product.
The project has a five-year timeline and the potential to create numerous jobs.
The third initiative, known as Integrated Pest Management, is an ecological project for controlling pests.
IPM combines the use of biological, cultural and chemical practices to control pests in agricultural production. It seeks to use natural predators or parasites to control pests, using selective pesticides for backup only when pests are not controlled by natural means.
According to the vice presidential office, several knowledge-based companies and tech teams are now working on the project's details to make it operational.
Extraterritorial cultivation is the next project, which envisages renting farmlands in other countries for cultivating crops and importing them.
Iran is planning to produce maize and other grains through a five-year extraterritorial project.
For water and soil-stressed countries like Iran, the approach is expected to improve food security while also increasing production.
