On display visited by Hassan Rouhani, The president of Iran, at the exhibition were the Agricultural Jihad Ministry’s technological achievements and capabilities in the fields of research as well as the latest products by Iran’s Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), IRNA reported.

The Agriculture expo was held on the sidelines of the 34th edition of a ceremony to select top national examples in the domestic agricultural sector.

Twenty AREEO-affiliated research institutes took part in the exhibition, which was aimed at boosting domestic production and ensuring the country’s food security.

Among the participants at the fair were Agriculture Biotechnology Research Institute of Iran, Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute, Animal Science Research Institute of Iran, Iranian Fisheries Science Research Institute, Research Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Iranian Research Institute of Plant Protection, Cotton Research Institute, Dryland Agricultural Research Institute, Soil and Water Research Institute and Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands.

During his visit to the exhibition, Rouhani expressed appreciation for efforts made by those responsible for ensuring the country’s food security in a year designated by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei as the ‘Year of Boosting Domestic Production.’

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Some 206,000 hectares are under medicinal plant cultivation in Iran, producing 675,000 tons annually, he said, adding that the area for cultivation such products will increase to 280,000 hectares by fiscal 2021-22.

Iran is home to about 8,500 species of medicinal herbs.

The official added that the move will help boost domestic income and job creation in different parts of the country.

Iran is the world’s biggest producer of saffron and accounts for more than 90% of global production. The country produces an average of 370 tons of saffron on over 108,000 hectares of land annually.

The country is also the world’s number one producer of Damask rose. According to Zeinali, Iran supplies 90% of rosewater in global markets and accounts for 8-10% of rose essence production in the world.

World caraway production is also dominated by Iran. People use caraway oil, fruit, and seeds as medicine.

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Rouhani also tasked the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization with taking measures to promote the tourism industry given this year’s amount of rainfalls and the favorable conditions for attracting more tourists to visit the country.

The Ministry of Agriculture also received an order to take steps to either obtain self-sufficiency in production of basic agricultural produces, or import them from neighboring countries if necessary.

The president also gave some orders to the Ministry of Education and other executive bodies, such as the Islamic Republic of Iranian Broadcasting in line with increasing employment and promoting economic, cultural and educational activities.

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He added that the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has so far added 36 items from food processing and supplementary equipment to the list of sanctions. Some 975 Iranian companies and individuals are also under US sanctions, among which at least two banks and 12 companies are active in the food and medicine fields, he added.

The deputy minister also maintained that the Swiss initiative that was supposed to act as a guarantee for the transfer of money for Iranian medicine and foodstuff by bypassing US sanctions has yet to be settled.

Shirzad went on to stress, however, that the Ministry of Agriculture has played an effective role in neutralizing the US measures against the food security in Iran by “increasing the volume of strategic reserves, reducing dependency and vast storage of basic goods.”

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Executive of Olive Project at the Ministry of Agriculture Seyed Rahmatollah Parichehr said that olive oil production volume has increased more than 30 percent in current year (started March 21, 2017).

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