Eurasia Press & News
TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran’s agriculture output can be increased from the current 100 mln tons to 300 mln tons per year through using modern technology and science, Minister of Agricultural Jihad Mohammad Reza Eskandari said.
Speaking while signing an agreement on research, technology and education with Tehran University on Saturday, he said that the use of modern technology will not only help make the country self-sufficient but will also boost production to enable export.
The agreement, which marks the beginning of cooperation with Tehran University, will help make full use of the capacity of the agriculture sector, Eskandari said.
Referring to the use of scientific methods in the agriculture sector, he said that new methods of rice cultivation have helped maintain production of the crop this year at the same level as in the past year.
The area under rice cultivation in the past stood at 639,000 hectares and this declined to 590,000 hectares this year, the minister said, according to the Islamic republic news agency.
However, that output remained unchanged due to the use of scientific capabilities and proper tapping of water resources, he added.
Referring to the designation of the current Iranian year (started March 21) as the ‘Year of Innovation and Prosperity’, he said that Iran should be able to present an Iranian-Islamic pattern to the world in practice.
For his part, Chancellor of Tehran University Farhad Rahbar said that signing the agreement will herald a great stride in the agriculture sector.
“We should cut dependence on oil revenues and take advantage of science and technology in agriculture, industry as well as other sectors,” Rahbar concluded.
