Lack of investment in the agriculture caused the sector not to grow
“Agriculture sector, which is responsible for food security of the country, is much more vulnerable than the past” said Shahrokh Shajari, Deputy Minister of Management Development and Resources, the Ministry of Agriculture Jahad.
Shahrokh Shajari, Deputy Minister of Management Development and Resources, the Ministry of Agriculture Jahad (MAJ), said in a ceremony celebrating the best actors of the agricultural sector in Tehran province, which was held on June 14 at the Agricultural Jahad Department in Rey town: Lack of investment in the agricultural sector has caused the damage to the sector not to grow more. Agriculture sector, which is responsible for food security of the country, is much more vulnerable than the past.
“The country’s macro-level decisions in the field of agriculture should be such that non-specialized banks has to invest at least 15 percent in this field. Also, the input of the National Development Fund should be allocated 10 percent to the agricultural sector while it is now below 2%.” He added.
“Depreciation of investments in the agricultural sector must be compensate by new investments.There is a deep performance gap between premier selected farmers and other farmers. This is a negative point that shows that efficiency and productivity among farmers are not as it should be.” He said.He believed: “The experiences of premier farmers should be transferred to other farmers and farms to improve productivity to witness a great change in agriculture, in this way, officials should provide the ground for investment in extension farms.”
He said that the planning of MAJ during the last eight years helped farmers to be able to increase their livestock production from 12 million tons to 16 million tons. Fishery production was increased from 900 thousand tons in 2013 to more than one million tons in the year 2020, which shows the efforts of fishermen in this field.The value added growth of the agricultural sector has increased from 3.7% in 2013 to 9% in 2020, while the GDP growth of the agricultural sector value added has been less and even negative. Shajari continued: “Currently, the share of the agricultural sector in the country’s employment is about 17.8 percent, which should be noted that with the development of the country, the employment of the agricultural sector should be reduced due to the new machinery.”