Head of Iran's Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO) Eskandar Zand underlined that comprehensive supportive programs have been developed in research and training areas with the aim of reaching wheat self-sufficiency rate of 110%.
“Production of varieties, production of primary seed, certified seed production, introduction of new low-risk pesticides, launch of new methods for tillage and conservation agriculture, increasing water productivity and boosting wheat nutrition are among the programs which have been put on the agenda,” he underlined.
Deputy agriculture minister went on to note that Iran is capable of adding ten new varieties of wheat to its production cycle on an annual basis.
He stated that 52 varieties of wheat are currently being planted inside the country asserting “a total of 95 per cent of these varieties are produced domestically and the entire 1.2-million-ton seed demand is supplied by Iran’s Seed and Plant Improvement Institute (SPII).
Zand touched upon promotion of certified wheat seed consumption explaining “over a ten-year plan, we intend to increase the share of certified seeds in agricultural lands to more than 50 percent though the current figure resides at 30 percent.”
“We pursue the strategy to produce high yielding and resistance varieties, which are efficient for irrigated field of wheat,” underscored the official.
AREEO head also referred to production of varieties of cereals maintaining “at the present time, we are working on production of new varieties and transferring of cereal germplasms from various countries hoping to diversify the country’s cereal basket.”
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