TEHRAN (Iran News) – Modern irrigation system is implemented in 4,500 hectares of farmlands in Ardebil province, in the northwest of Iran, a provincial official announced.
While visiting some modern irrigation projects of Ardebil, Akbar Behnamjou, the governor-general of the province, said the area under this irrigation system has risen to 4,500 hectares from 500 hectares in the province over the past three years.
The official said that the area under modern irrigation system is planned to reach 15,000 hectares in the province, adding that the Agriculture Department of Ardebil is trying that the figure of 6,000 hectares will be materialized this Iranian calendar year (ends on March 2022).
He considered the reduction of water used in lands, creating a suitable environment for pest control and improving productivity as the advantages of the new irrigation system.
According to Behnamjou, the implementation of modern irrigation projects will save about 40 percent of agricultural water and will increase productivity by 15 percent.
With the measures taken regarding modern irrigation, this province has been upgraded from the last ranks of the country to the first ranks in the implementation of this system, the official further underlined.
In last October, the director of Iranian Agriculture Ministry’s modern irrigation systems development plan had said that the implementation of this plan was going to increase the irrigation efficiency of the farmlands to 44 percent which will increase the production capacity of agricultural products by 30 percent.
“Over the past three years, each year, an average of 150,000 hectares of farmlands have been equipped with modern irrigation systems, and we have witnessed a 300 percent jump”, Abbas Zare said at the time.
