TEHRAN, Iran, Nov.17
Trend:
Iran is expected to produce 600,000 tons of products in its agricultural cities that would be destined for the domestic and foreign markets, said the Managing Director of the Agricultural Parks Company.
"Agricultural cities could attract investment in the country's agriculture sector and they are currently offering services to investors," said Ali Ashraf Mansouri, Trend reports citing IRNA.
"We seek to develop greenhouses in agricultural cities since planting products in greenhouses could create more jobs in provinces and every hectare of greenhouse creates jobs for 10 people and there would be jobs during harvest season for 30 people," he said.
"Establishing agricultural cities would lead to food security and support domestic production and export. The parliament's agricultural commission has submitted a plan to support the development of agricultural cities that is being reviewed," he added.
According to Mansouri so far 8,900 hectares of agricultural lands were assigned as part of establishing agricultural cities to investors that were mostly done in the past two years. Additionally, there have been investment requests for cities to breed livestock. There are currently active fish farming cities in Hormozgan province.
"About $280 million bank advances were paid to investors with a 12 percent interest rate and a 15 percent interest rate for fishery and livestock farming," he noted.
He went on to say that construction of each greenhouse cost between $900,000 to $4 million while the major part of infrastructure equipment is produced domestically, however in the past two years rate of export products increased five times, and considering the costs of the greenhouse, it would be economical to build them.