Tehran - The Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Head of the Agricultural Research, Education, and Extension Organization (AREEO) stressed the need for preventive approaches and early detection in managing date palm pests and diseases, saying the project employs AI-assisted monitoring, traps, and plant-based compounds while reducing pesticide use in model orchards.

 

Gholamreza Golmohammadi stated that the project is implemented by AREEO with the Iranian Research Institute of Plant Protection as its scientific backbone, the Agricultural Education and Extension Institute for knowledge transfer, and the Plant Protection Organization.

 

He noted that implementation has now begun, with the required research previously completed. Iran, he said, already possesses solid knowledge of major date palm threats, including the red palm weevil, wood-boring pests, leafhoppers, and inflorescence rot.

 

Highlighting that over 80 percent of participants are farmers, Golmohammadi said the training of some 1,700 individuals and the establishment of about 1,500 model orchards will encourage other farmers to adopt proper control methods.

 

He described the project's core approach as integrated pest management, combining prevention, early detection, pruning, traps, and AI-based diagnostics, alongside researcher-developed plant compounds and only limited use of synthetic and organic pesticides.

 

Golmohammadi called facilitating knowledge transfer to farmers the key expected outcome of FAO cooperation, noting that part of this knowledge already existed domestically, with new findings, particularly on the red palm weevil, gained over the past two to three years. FAO support, he added, will speed and simplify delivery of scientific achievements to farmers.

 

Citing Iran's scientific capacity in the date palm sector, Golmohammadi said the country holds knowledge—such as on early detection and prevention of red palm weevil infestation—that may not yet be used in neighboring date-producing countries, and which could support future technical cooperation and services abroad.