Iran’s agriculture sector grows 33%

Iran’s agricultural jihad minister says that the country’s agriculture sector witnessed growth of 33 percent in the last Iranian calendar year (March 21, 2010 to March 20, 2011).

Sadeq Khalilian said on Friday that Iran exported $5.1 billion worth of agricultural products last year, indicating a 33-percent rise compared to the previous year .

The Iranian agricultural jihad minister noted that the country’s imports also declined by 30 percent during the last Iranian calendar year, which he called a leap forward for the agricultural sector.

Khalilian praised the county’s progress in the agriculture sector, stating that Iran’s agricultural production has increased four-fold since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979 to reach 107 million tons per year.

He went on to say that the country reached self-sufficiency in wheat production this year, adding that Iran’s wheat production has increased by 70 percent compared to the volume in the previous year, despite the drought in seven provinces.

In May, he noted that the government had taken measures to reduce agricultural imports in recent years.

In November 2010, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced plans to boost the country’s annual production of agricultural goods to over 200 million tons within four years, saying, “The government will allocate 60 trillion rials (around $6 billion) to the key sector to help achieve that target.”