West Azarbaijan - Situated in the northwest of Iran, West Azarbaijan province is Iran's top producer of spring-planted sugar beets, while expanding autumn cultivation is essential to strengthening national sugar production and improving water-use efficiency, a senior agriculture official says.

 

Hossein Asghari, director general of the Ministry of Agriculture's Office of Forage and Industrial Crops, made the remarks at a meeting of the provincial sugar beet technical committee, stressing that sugar factories should give greater priority to autumn planting because of its economic benefits and more efficient use of water resources.

 

He said sustainable production of the strategic crop depends on strict adherence to cultivation patterns, a balanced production chain, and agricultural planning tailored to local climatic conditions.

 

Asghari also called for the expansion of contract farming, emphasizing the need for a comprehensive national framework to improve productivity and coordinate production.

 

The framework should establish uniform standards while allowing implementation requirements to be adapted to the climatic conditions and geographical potential of each province, he added.