Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4
By Khalid Kazimov - Trend:
Iran plans to allocate $923.4 million for developing irrigation methods aimed at protecting water resources in the country.
Alimorad Akbari, Iranian deputy agriculture minister, has said that the country's National Development Fund is expected to provide $500 million of $923.4 million, ILNA news agency reported.
According to the deputy minister, the mentioned budget will make the country capable of equipping 400,000 hectares of agricultural lands with modern irrigation technologies.
He also added that there are about 300,000 unauthorized water wells in the country and people illegally get about 20 million cubic meters of water per year through the unauthorized wells.
He added that the country blocked about 7,000 unauthorized wells over the last year.
Iran's agricultural sector consumes over 80 percent of the country's annual water usage.
Aimed at saving water, Iran has recently announced plans to carry out extra-territorial cultivation of agricultural products in countries such as Brazil and Turkmenistan.
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