BAKU, Azerbaijan, Apr. 8
By Elnur Baghishov – Trend:
Iran is implementing a plan to create new irrigation lines in the West Azerbaijan Province (northwestern Iran), Iranian Deputy Minister of Agriculture Jihad Alimorad Akbari said, Trend reports citing the ministry.
He made the remark in a meeting dedicated to research water and land issues in the West Azerbaijan Province.
According to the deputy minister, these irrigation lines will cover an area of 61,500 hectares. And a total of 14 trillion rials (about $333 million) has been spent in this regard so far. More 7 trillion rials (about $166 million) is needed to complete this plan.
Akbari added that the Ministry of Agriculture Jihad plans to take the necessary steps in the current Iranian year (from March 21, 2021 through March 20, 2022) to improve irrigation lines to be cover 27,000 hectares of land.
Speaking in the meeting, the Governor of Iran's West Azerbaijan Province, Mohammad Mehdi Shahriari said that 15 trillion rials (about $357 million) had been spent on the establishment of irrigation lines in the province over the past five years (as of 20, 2016).
“The Iranian government plans to equip 227,000 hectares of land in some provinces with modern irrigation systems. About 7,000 hectares out of 62,000 hectares in the West Azerbaijan Province have been equipped with modern irrigation system, and the rest have on average of 90-percent physical progress on equipping work,” he said.
Shahriari noted that upon completion of this plan, 70,000 people will be employed, and 33,000 hectares of dry-farming land will be turned into irrigated land. As a result, 730,000 tons will be added to the province's annual agricultural production potential.
Reportedly, Iran's West Azerbaijan Province produces about 7 million tons of agricultural products per year.