Land Under Wheat Cultivation Down 1.5%
EghtesadOnline: Farmlands under wheat cultivation in Iran have decreased by 1.5% to stand at 5.8 million hectares compared with the previous year, the director of “Wheat Project” undertaken by Agriculture Ministry said.
“It is estimated that about 13.3 million tons of wheat will be produced this year. More than 70% of this volume will be purchased by the government and used to produce flour and the wheat seeds required for next year’s cultivation,” Esmaeil Esfandiarpour was also quoted by IRNA as saying.
President Hassan Rouhani’s government has for the past five years endeavored to decrease land under wheat cultivation to save water resources in the face of a worsening water crisis experienced by the country.
To meet domestic demand, increase yields and retain wheat self-sufficiency, the government is helping farmers to make use of modern cultivation methods to boost output, according to Financial Tribune.
Iran has been self-sufficient in wheat production for more than two years now and only imports the crop for reexportation after it is processed.