Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 10
By Elnur Baghishov – Trend:
Iran produces about 700,000 tons of legumes per year, Faramak Aziz Karimi, Director General of the Cereal Supply Organization of the Iranian Ministry of Agriculture, said.
Iran provides itself with legumes and imports a little volume, Karimi added, Trend reports referring to IRNA.
He added that 149,000 tons of legumes were imported to the country during nine months of this Iranian year (started on March 21, 2018).
During the reporting period, 53,000 tons of products were exported, he said.
Presently, 1.65 million cubic meters of water is used per year for sowing legumes.
According to the program of the Ministry of Agriculture, this figure must be reduced by about 1 million cubic meters by the end of the 6th development program (2016-2021), he said.
According to the ministry’s program, it is necessary to change sowing methods, reduce the cultivation area of slow-growing plants, increase the cultivation area of fast growing plants to reduce water consumption.
According to the ministry’s plans till 2025, the production of medicinal plants is expected to be brought up to 837,000 tons at a 308,000-hectare area, he said.