BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 12
By Elnur Baghishov - Trend:
The investments worth 15 trillion rials (about $357 million) have been made in the production of agricultural equipment in Iran this Iranian year (beginning on March 21, 2019), director of the Iranian Agricultural Equipment Development Center Kambiz Abbasi said, Trend reports referring to the Iranian Agriculture Ministry’s website.
“These investments were made in the form of loans,” Abbasi added. “The farmers were provided with 13,100 tractors and 300 combines this Iranian year. Some 95 percent of agricultural machinery is produced in Iran.”
"The Iranian plants producing tractors and combines have increased the cost of their equipment by 88 percent this year," the director said.
“Iranian Agriculture Minister Abbas Keshavarz was dissatisfied with an increase in the price of tractors,” Abbasi said.
Abbasi hopes that Iran's Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade will take the necessary steps to support the sphere of agricultural equipment.
“Iran will have 80 pieces of equipment for harvesting rice by 2021 (till March 21, 2021),” the director added.
“Currently, more than 65 percent of wheat sowing and harvesting process is implemented through technical equipment,” the director said. “Some 85 percent of this process is expected to be implemented through technical equipment till 2026.”
“Some 8-10 percent of olive and pistachio sowing and harvesting process is implemented through technical equipment,” the director said. “Some 50 percent of this process is expected to be implemented through technical equipment till 2031.”
While speaking about the use of unmanned aerial vehicles in the agricultural sector, Abbasi said that 54 drones were both domestic and imported.
“Each of them costs 1-2 billion rials (about $23,800-47,600),” the director said. “The drones are used for pulverizing pesticides.”