Farmak Aziz Karimi, Director General of the Department of Cereals and Basic Products at the Ministry of Agriculture said on Tuesday that "About 2 million tons of seeds are planted, last year we only imported 5,000 tons of seeds, which accounts for 2% of the total need."
According to the agricultural official, "The remaining 2% of seeds is imported into the country for importing the related technology."
The official said that seeds are crop-based agriculture's most important input, adding that seeds have to be prepared based on agricultural science in order to increase the qualitative and quantitative value of agricultural products.
Aziz Karimi also noted that "Even advanced countries in the agricultural sector import seeds."
"Currently, Iran is an exporter of potato and corn seeds, while sugar beet seeds account for the biggest share of imports of seeds," the official highlighted.
MNA/5861971