Tehran, Iran, July 3
Trend:
Irrigation and drainage project in Iran's Ardebil has been completed by 96 percent; however, due to lack of water supply by the Ministry of Energy, only 5,500 hectares out of 42,000 hectares have been cultivated, Iranian Deputy Minister of Agricultural Jihad Ali Morad Akbari told reporters, Trend reports citing ILNA.
He stressed that the plans for irrigation and drainage in the west and northwest of the country were to be implemented simultaneously by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Energy, but the latter stopped its participation in the project.
Akbari stated the lack of credit as a reason for the Ministry of Energy's backwardness in implementing the plan, adding that the Ministry of Energy has promised that by September, it will complete its part, so that the water needed for cultivation in these lands will be provided.
He pointed out that the agricultural production in the west and northwest of the country increased two times. “Increase in production is an important result of the implementation of irrigation and drainage plans in these area,” he added.
He noted that the implementation of this plan is being carried out with the approval of the Supreme Leader and by allocating credit from the Foreign Currency reserves. "The credit amounts to $350,000. So far, $268,000 was spent on the project," he said.
He went on to talk about the infrastructure and equipment used to implement the project.
“Creating 623 km of inter-farm roads, 11,000 km of canalization and intubation, 232 thousand types of valves and 12 million different types of fittings were used for this irrigation and drainage project,” he said.
Akbari described the project as one of the largest Center Pivot Irrigation System projects in the world. "Through this plan, more than 19,000 hectares of land are to be equipped with the Center Pivot Irrigation System.”
He went on to say that water needed for the implementation of the project in Ardebil province is obtained from Aras River and Khoda-Afarin dam.
Referring to the employment rate of the project, Akbari said that the implementation of the irrigation and drainage network will create sustainable employment for more than 12,000 people.