Agriculture in Iran

 

Roughly one-third of Iran's total surface area is suited for farmland, but because of poor soil and lack of adequate water distribution in many areas, most of it is not under cultivation. Only 12% of the total land area is under cultivation (arable land, orchards and vineyards) but less than one-third of the cultivated area is irrigated; the rest is devoted to dry farming. The western and northwestern portions of the country have the most fertile soils.

One third of the total land area (35%) is used for grazing and small fodder production. Most of the grazing is done on mostly semi-dry rangeland in mountain areas and on areas surrounding the large deserts ("Dasht's") of Central Iran.

The non-agricultural surface represents 53% of the total area of Iran, as follows: - Abb. 35% of the country is covered by deserts, salt flats ("kavirs") and bare-rock mountains, not suited for agricultural purposes. - An additional 11% of Iran's total surface is covered by woodlands. - And 7% is covered by cities, towns, villages, industrial areas and roads.

At the end of the 20th century, agricultural activities accounted for about one-fifth of Iran's gross domestic product (GDP) and employed a comparable proportion of the workforce. Most farms are small, less than 25 acres (10 hectares), and thus are not economically viable, which has contributed to the wide-scale migration to cities. In addition to water scarcity and areas of poor soil, seed is of low quality and farming techniques are antiquated.

All these factors have contributed to low crop yields and poverty in rural areas. Further, after the 1979 revolution many agricultural workers claimed ownership rights and forcibly occupied large, privately owned farms where they had been employed. The legal disputes that arose from this situation remained unresolved through the 1980s, and many owners put off making large capital investments that would have improved farmproductivity, further deteriorating production. Progressive government efforts and incentives during the 1990s, however, improved agricultural productivity marginally, helping Iran toward its goal of reestablishing national self-sufficiency in food production.

Crops

The wide range of temperature fluctuation in different parts of the country and the multiplicity of climatic zones make it possible to cultivate a diverse variety of crops, including cereals (wheat, barley, rice, and maize (corn)), fruits (dates, figs, pomegranates,melons, and grapes), vegetables, cotton, sugar beets and sugarcane, pistachios (38% of the world's output in 2005), nuts, olives, spices (i.e. saffron), tea, tobacco, and medicinal herbs^[1]. More than 2,000 plant species are grown in Iran; only 100 of which are being used in pharmaceutical industries. The land covered by Iran’s natural flora is four times that of the Europe’s. ^[2]

Forestry

Iran's forests cover approximately the same amount of land as its agricultural crops—about one-ninth of its total surface area. The largest and most valuable woodland areas are in the Caspian region and the northern slopes of the Elburz Mts., where many of the forests are commercially exploitable and include both hardwoods and softwoods. Forest products include plywood, fiberboard, and lumber for the construction and furniture industries. The cutting of trees is rigidly controlled by the government, which also has a reforestation program.

Fishing

Fishing is also important, and Iran harvests fish both for domestic consumption and for export, marketing their products fresh, salted, smoked, or canned. Sturgeon (yielding its roe for caviar), bream, whitefish, salmon, mullet, carp, catfish, perch, and roach are caught in the Caspian Sea, Iran's most important fishery. More than 200 species of fish are found in the Persian Gulf, 150 of which are edible, including shrimps and prawns.

Livestock

Of the country's livestock, sheep are by far the most numerous, followed by goats, cattle, donkeys, horses, water buffalo, and mules. The raising of poultry for eggs and meat is prevalent, and camels are still raised and bred for use in transport. Iran has also a large dairy industry and imported close to two million tonnes of feed grain annually in 2006. The raising of swine is forbidden in Iran due to Islamic law. ^[3]

History

Agriculture has a long history and tradition in Iran. As early as 10,000 BCE, the earliest known domestication of the goat had taken place in the Iranian plateau. ^[4] By 5000BCE, wine was being fermented in Iran ^[5] , and by 1700 BCE, the windmill had been invented in Persia for the first time in history. ^{[6] [7]}

Fruits such as the peach first found their way into Europe from Persia, as indicated by their Latin name, persica, from which (by way of the French) we have the English word "peach." ^[8] As did Tulips, which were also first cultivated in ancient Persia ^{[9] [10]} and spinach, the word Spinach itself derived from the Persian word اسفناج Esfenaj. The Chinese referred to it in 647CE as 'the herb of Persia'. In 400BCE, a form of ice cream was in use in Persia ^{[11] [12]}, and the ancestor of the cookie is said to have come from Persia (from the Persian koolucheh) in the 7th century according to many sources. ^{[13] [14]}

Fifth century BCE Persia was even the source for introduction of the domesticated chicken into Europe. The mid fifth century BCE poet Cratinus (according to the later Greek author "Athenaeus") for example calls the chicken "the Persian alarm". In Aristophanes's comedy The Birds (414 BC) a chicken is called "the Median bird", which points to its introduction from Persis.

The Qanat, a subterranean aqueduct used for irrigation in agriculture, was one of the most significant and successful achievements of the Persian tradition. Qanats were in use millennia ago, and are still in use in contemporary Iran.

Agriculture in Iran's economy

Iran’s agricultural sector contributed 11 percent of the GDP in 2004 and employed a third of the labor force. Since 1979 commercial farming has replaced subsistence farming as the dominant mode of agricultural production. Some northern and western areas support rain-fed agriculture, while other areas require irrigation for successful crop production. Wheat, rice, and barley are the country’s major crops.

Overall, Iran's soil is not well suited for large scale agriculture. About 11 percent of the country's total land area of 163.6 million hectares is cultivated. Still, 63% of the cultivable lands have not been used, and 18.5 million hectares of the present farms are being used with 50 to 60% capacity.

After nearly achieving agricultural self-sufficiency in the 1960s, Iran reached the point in 1979 where 65 percent of its food had to be imported. Declining productivity was blamed on the use of modern fertilizers, which had inadvertently scorched the thin Iranian soil. Unresolved land reform issues, a lack of economic incentives to raise surplus crops, and low profit ratios combined to drive increasingly large segments of the farm population into urban areas.

The 1979 Revolution sought self-sufficiency in foodstuffs as part of its overall goal of decreased economic dependence on the West. Higher government subsidies for grain and other staples and expanded short- term credit and tax exemptions for farmers complying with government quotas were intended by the new regime to promote self-sufficiency. But by early 1987, Iran was actually more dependent on agricultural imports than in the 1970s.

By 1997, the gross value of products in Iran's agricultural sector had reached $25 billion. In 2000, the Construction Jihad Organization and the Ministry of Agriculture were merged by national legislation, to form the new Ministry of Agricultural Jihad. By 2003, a quarter of Iran's non-oil exports were agricultural based. Today, according to a senior Agriculture Jihad Ministry official said that Iran has attained 94 percent self-sufficiency in essential agricultural products.

Mechanized agricultural has had a slow but steady growth in Iran. Industrial facilities in Tabriz and Arak are Iran's largest producers of machinery and equipment for the agricultural sector. 12,000 combine harvesters and 300,000 tractors are currently used in the sector (2007).^[15]

While the Iranian Government policy is aimed at self-sufficiency for even more products, it’s unlikely the country will produce enough agricultural products in the short- to medium-term to meet that goal. Iran has struggled to provide enough basic food commodities to its local market demands, following a significant population increase over the past two decades. For example, annual wheat production ranges between six and 10 million tonnes, yet the government currently imports between three and four million tonnes to meet demand (partly due to consumer waste, given government subsidies for wheat and other basic commodities).

The focus areas for agriculture are:

• Financing and low-interest loans for investment in agriculture and agro-industrial projects.
• Ensuring self-sufficiency in the provision of national food requirements.
• Budgets for agro-industrial projects in the food processing, packaging and irrigation sectors.
• Provision of agricultural machinery and equipment with emphasis on local production by making transfer of technology a required clause in foreign contracts.
• Allocation of government loans and financing for agro-industrial projects.

References

1. ^ http://iran-daily.com/1385/2761/html/panorama.htm#s203427
2. ^ http://www.mehrnews.com/en/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=442498
3. ^ Agriculture Canada: Agri-Food Country Profile Statistical Overview - Iran
4. ^ http://web.utk.edu/~persian/goat.htm
5. ^ http://www.museum.upenn.edu/new/research/Exp_Rese_Disc/NearEast/wine.shtml
6. ^ http://www.catpress.com/bplanet9/eeolica.htm
7. ^ http://web.utk.edu/~persian/windmill.htm
8. ^ http://www.birdnature.com/nov1899/peach.html
9. ^ http://www.flowermonthclub.com/newsletters/vol3no4.htm
10. ^ http://pss.uvm.edu/ppp/articles/tulips2.html
11. ^ http://www.krysstal.com/inventions_06.html
12. ^ http://www.mmdtkw.org/VAncientInventions.html
13. ^ http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/CookieHistory.htm
14. ^ http://www.kitchenproject.com/history/cookies.htm
15. ^ http://iran-daily.com/1386/2876/html/economy.htm

See also

Geography of Iran

Mining in Iran

Economy of Iran

Environmental issues in Iran

List of reservoirs and dams in Iran

Foreign Direct Investment in Iran

External links

• Iran Ministry of Agricultural Jihad
• Department of Land Cultivation and Management
• Iran's Agricultural Research and Education Organization
• Iran Forest Service
• Soil Science Society of Iran
• Biotechnology Study Center, Tehran
• Iran Soil Conservation Research Institute
• Iran National Salinity Research Center
• Iran Agricultural Scientific Information and Documentation Center
• Iran Pistachi Research Institute
• Plant Pathology Research Institute of Iran
• Industry Profile for the Agriculture of Iran
• Iran's Fisheries
• Agriculture in Iran - Encyclopedia Iranica, Columbia University (New York City)

Agriculture in Asia
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1countries spanning more than one continent

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