Iran: The lack of knowledge base in agriculture has reduced productivity in this sector

Seyyed Mojtabi Khayam Nekoui said on Monday, November 15, at the second national festival of pomegranate production and export in Saveh, the pomegranate capital of Iran, which was held in the historic Grand Mosque of this city: 98% of the world's saffron is produced in Iran, and our country ranks third in pomegranate production in the world. After India and China, 12% of the cultivated area of the country is under pomegranate cultivation. He said: 45 years ago, the country's agricultural production was 25 million tons, and this year, despite the doubling of Iran's population, production has increased fivefold, and we are on the threshold of self-sufficiency in some products. The head of the Agricultural Education and Extension Research Organization further said: The most important challenge of the agricultural sector is that it is not knowledge-based and we have the lowest productivity in this sector, which is unacceptable. About 50% of Iran's orchards are second and third grade, ...