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]]>The memorandum of understanding was signed by Iran’s Minister of Agriculture Mahmoud Hojjati and Netherlands Minister of Economic Affairs Henk Kamp in Amsterdam on Friday. Hojjati heading a delegation of his deputies and representatives of Iran’s private sector has visited the Netherlands at the official invitation of the host country.
During his meeting with the Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs, Hojjati maintained that Iran is on the same level with the top countries in the world in production of certain horticultural crops such as pistachios, dates, pomegranates and apricots. He added that the Islamic Republic is making plans to increase the export of such products to new markets.
The Iranian minister then noted the various capacities of the Netherlands in agriculture and livestock, saying “the two countries can complement one another on agricultural cooperation and the MoU that will be signed today can better define the framework for this kind of cooperation between the two sides.”
Henk Kamp, for his part, highlighted the nuclear deal between Iran and the 5+1 as a good opportunity for various countries across the world to further expand their relations with Iran.
“The exchange of delegations between the two counties in the past two years shows the expedition of developing relations, and the Netherlands is ready to boost its cooperation with Iran in all areas, including economy and agriculture,” he added.
Kamp further noted the relative advantage of the Netherlands in agricultural production, which is about five times more than the average in Europe, and called for exchange of experiences between the two countries in the field of agriculture and livestock.
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Iran agriculture in Modern era
Modern agriculture in Iran dates back to the 1820s, when Amir Kabir, the Chief Minister to Naser al-Din Shah and a symbol of reform and modernism in Iran, undertook a number of changes to the traditional agricultural system. Such changes included importing modified seeds and signing collaboration contracts with other countries. The first agricultural school was founded about a hundred years ago and the Agriculture Bank was established in 1933. The Ministry of Agriculture is currently overseeing and implementing the government’s policies in the agricultural sector.
Of the 162.2 million hectares of land in Iran, approximately 19 million hectares is agricultural land. This constitutes 12% of the country’s land area. The agricultural sector in Iran currently constitutes 13.9% of GDP and agricultural products form about 30% of Iran’s non-oil exports. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Iran ranks amongst the top 7 countries in producing 22 important agricultural products: it ranks first in pistachio production, second in date production and fourth in apple production worldwide. It is also the twelfth largest producer of wheat and had the second highest production increase after Argentina in 2010. The value of agricultural production increased by 20% in the Iranian calendar year 1389 (ending March 2011) and agricultural exports rose by 30% in comparison to the previous year.
More About Iran Agriculture
FAO
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