One of the vital agricultural centers of the nation is the province of Hamadan in western Iran. Although just accounting up 2.1% of the country’s total land, Hamadan contributes significantly to Iran’s economy by producing 4.4% of the country’s agricultural goods. 29% of the province’s workforce is employed in agriculture, contributing 25% of the province’s economic output. 5.4% of the nation’s agricultural production and 4.3% of its added value come from the province’s agriculture industry. This is why the government has decided to further expand the greenhouse footprint in the region with an extra 240 ha, reports Tehran Times.
The development of greenhouse agriculture has been given top priority by the Iranian government as it works to expand the agricultural sector. Several projects have been chosen and presented to banks to secure funding and start execution. With the development of pressured irrigation projects, greenhouse farming is viewed as a solution to the water shortage that has impacted Iran’s agriculture industry in recent years.
Iran’s Greenhouse Expansion Project Stalled by Sanctions and Drought
Greenhouse construction has witnessed unprecedented growth in the country led by the government’s Greenhouse Expansion Project to develop more than 48,000 hectares by the end of its 20-Year Vision Plan (2005-2025) with an annual output of over 21 million tons of agro products as reported by state media IRNA.
The project has nonetheless been halted due to international sanctions imposed during President Trump’s era, which prevented most international solution providers from doing business in the country and foreign investment in greenhouse projects.
The country has been hit by severe droughts since July 2021, with water becoming increasingly scarce in rural areas and principal reservoirs reduced at all-time lows. From September to the end of March, Iran International reports that only 409 million cubic meters of water have entered dams in the Tehran province. In contrast, 573 million cubic meters entered the capital’s vital reservoirs in the previous period.
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