“Development of this system is one of our priorities in the province”, Mohammadreza Hashemi noted.

Saying that there are 197,000 hectares of farmlands in Semnan province, the official said, “We are trying to have 30 percent of the farmlands equipped with the modern irrigations systems in the province”.

As stated by the project manager of the Agriculture Ministry’s smart irrigation systems development program, so far 2.6 million hectares of the country’s farmlands have been equipped with modern irrigation systems.

Fariborz Abbasi has said that completing semi-finished agriculture projects is the priority of his ministry in the current Iranian calendar year, and expanding the modern irrigation network across the country is of significant importance in this regard.

The deputy agriculture minister noted that the project for implementing irrigation networks in the west and northwest of the country is about 70 percent completed and the ministry is pursuing to get the necessary funding for the remaining 30 percent.

The official expressed hope that considering the budget allocation for the provinces at the beginning of the current Iranian year, the ministry would be able to develop the project in terms of both quantity and quality.

The purpose of implementing the plan of modern irrigation systems is to increase the productivity and sustainability of water and soil resources in the country to ensure the sustainable production of agricultural products.

“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”, the official said.

Agriculture Ministry is also taking the necessary measures for supporting the domestic manufacturing of equipment used in these systems, he added.

Back in September 2021, Abbasi had said that 95 percent of the equipment used in such systems is manufactured inside the country.

The official said the ministry has comprehensive plans for indigenizing the knowledge for the production of the other five percent as well.

He pointed to the filters and drippers in modern irrigation systems as the equipment whose domestic production is on the agenda and predicted: “In a two- or three-year plan, part of the imported equipment and supplies will be produced by domestic manufacturers.”

Abbasi mentioned the quality improvement of modern irrigation systems as one of the main strategies of Agriculture Ministry and said: “We believe that along with the quantitative development of new irrigation systems, quality improvement should also take place to improve productivity and ensure food security by increasing water efficiency in the best possible way.”

He further underlined educating farmers, officials, and managers of companies active in the field of production and implementation of new irrigation systems as one of the programs that his ministry is pursuing in order to improve the quality and optimal use of these systems.

Referring to the activity of 2,400 private companies in the development of new irrigation systems in the agricultural sector, Abbasi said: “The private sector in this field includes 350 consulting companies, 1,600 contractors, 400 manufacturers and suppliers of equipment, and a number of monitoring firms.”

The post Modern irrigation systems established in 34,000 ha of Semnan farmlands appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Faramarz Mahboubi, the deputy head of the province’s Industry, Mining, and Trade Department, put the estimated investment for these units at 69 trillion rials (about $1.642 billion) and job creation at 14,800.

The official said that investment making in the industry sector of the province has risen 271 percent in the first four months of this year, as compared to the same period of time in the previous year.

According to the latest data released by Industry, Mining and Trade Ministry, during the first quarter of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-June 21) 10,714 permits have been issued for establishing new industrial units in the country, which marked 31.8 percent increase year on year.

The estimated investment making for these units was more than 2.712 quadrillion rials (about $64.571 billion), indicating 162 percent rise year on year.

The units are predicted to create jobs for 288,096 persons, with a 52.4-percent growth.

As announced by Deputy Industry, Mining, and Trade Minister Mehdi Sadeqi Niaraki, the issuance of establishment licenses for industrial units in the country increased 40 percent in the past Iranian calendar year (ended on March 20).

“The number of establishment licenses increased to more than 36,000 last year, which shows that people are encouraged to invest in the productive sectors”, the official has stated.

He also said that over 6,500 new industrial units were established across the country during the past year, which created jobs for over 121,000 people.

The official further said that 1,500 idle industrial units have been revived in the country during the previous year.

Touching upon the Industry Ministry’s plans for the realization of the motto of the current year which is named the year of “Production: support and the elimination of obstacles” by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, the deputy minister said: “In the year that has been dedicated to the production sector by the Leader of the revolution, the orientation of all government organizations and executive bodies should be towards supporting the country’s industrial and mining units.”

He also mentioned an 85-percent rise in the allocation of land for establishing industrial units across the country and noted that over 4,500 hectares of land were handed over to applicants in the previous calendar year.

According to the official, there are over 46,000 small and medium-sized industrial units in Iran’s industrial parks and zones, of them about 9,200 units are inactive.

Iran’s industrial parks play a significant role in making the country independent through boosting production, which is a major strategy of Iran to combat the U.S. sanctions.

In fact, strengthening domestic production to achieve self-reliance is the most important program that Iran is following up in its industry sector in a bid to nullify the effects of the U.S. sanctions on its economy.

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“A Park ranger has managed to capture the picture of a three-member group of Asiatic cheetahs near Biarjomand village, which is in the vicinity of Khar Turan National Park [also known as Turan Wildlife Refuge],” Amir Abdoos, head of the provincial office of Department of Environment said on Monday.

He added that the spotted cheetahs have raised hopes for the survival of the endangered species in the region.

Abdoos noted that two cheetah cubs were also spotted near Biarjomand in mid-spring. This indicates a growing population of the species in the region, he said.

Asiatic cheetahs and Persian leopards are among the most endangered species in the world. Big cats have been listed as “endangered” in the red list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Reduced prey population and shrinkage of their natural habitat are threatening the big cats.

Khar Turan National Park, situated in the southeast of Shahrud city, stretches to 1,400,000 hectares while being the second largest reserve in the country after Naybandan Wildlife Refuge.

The park is home to one of the largest populations of the critically endangered Asiatic cheetah.

With the increasing numbers of cheetahs in Khar Turan, there is an estimated population of around 40 individuals.

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During the operation, three smugglers were arrested, he added, saying that the force is on the move to find other elements of the drug trafficking band.

According to the police chief, the big haul included 1,340 kg opium and 68 kg morphine.

Located near Afghanistan which is one of the main sources of opium production in the world, Iran is on the frontline of the fight against drug trafficking. Iran has lost many forces during this fight. Tehran has always asked for international help in such operations, noting that the other countries, especially European states, should take responsibility and play a positive role in this fight or face its threats themselves. The country has spent more than hundreds of millions of dollars on sealing its borders and preventing the transit of narcotics destined for European, Arab and Central Asian countries.

According to the World Drug Report 2019 of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, in 2017, Iran had seized the largest quantity of opiates, accounting for 39% of the global total.

The post 1.4 tons of illicit drugs seized in joint police operation in Tehran appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Some 66,000 tons of lead and copper are produced in this industrial and production unit annually, he stated.

He went on to say that the ground was broken for the construction operation of this giant project in 2014 after acquisition of land and removal of problems in the fields water, gas and electricity infrastructures.

Development of important economic infrastructures in automotive sector, defense industry and also increasing competitive capability of promotion of exports have been cited as the main aim behind launching this project, Bourbour emphasized.

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