TEHRAN, Jul. 23 (MNA) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani underlined the need for a shift from traditional agriculture to industrial agriculture in a bid to boost the vital sector's production.
Speaking on Thursday in the inaugural ceremony of operation of national projects of the Ministry of Agriculture held through video conference, Rouhani said cince Iran is located in arid- and semi-arid region, it is very important that patterns of cultivation and methods of irrigation should be turned from traditional to industrial form, he reiterated.
He put the total volume of agricultural productions in 2013 at 97 million tons and said, "volume of agricultural productions hit from 97 million tons in 2013 to 130 million tons at the current situation, showing a considerable jump.
"The government's plan is to reach 23,000 hectares of greenhouse cultivation by the end of the twelfth government. However, with the efforts of the government during the past 7 years, we have created more greenhouses, compared to the last 30 years."
"With the cultivation and harvesting of strategic and food products in the country, the situation is desirable and satisfying and Iran is self-sufficient in this regard," he said, noting that many countries are storing major agricultural and food products following the coronavirus pandemic and are refusing to sell them.
He seized this opportunity to express his thanks to the unsparing and unflinching efforts taken by current and former ministers at the Ministry of Agriculture who took giant strides in line with realizing most objectives of the agricultural sector in the country.
Elsewhere in his remarks, President Rouhani pointed to the inauguration of agricultural projects in the provinces of Yazd, Hormozgan and Lorestan and added, “effective steps have been taken by the government in these provinces in relevant field.”