Shiraz – The southern Fars province has secured its position as Iran's premier seed-producing region for the fifth consecutive year, underlining its vital contribution to national food security, the head of the province's agricultural organization announced.

 

Ahad Bajhat Haghighi credited the Fars Agricultural Research Center as the engine behind this sustained success. Spanning 163 hectares, the center houses six specialized units, plant protection, water and soil, engineering, agronomy-horticulture, certification, and sugar beet research, and functions as a key scientific pillar for the region's farming community.

 

This year, the center produced 48,000 tons of certified seed, a volume that comfortably covers provincial needs while supplying a substantial portion of demand across eight neighboring and southern provinces.

 

Bajhat Haghighi also underscored the importance of private-sector partnerships. Contracts have been inked with 32 active companies to cultivate 80 irrigated and rainfed wheat and barley varieties over 13,339 hectares, introducing new climate-resilient strains into farmers' portfolios. The payoff, he noted, has been a measurable rise in both per-hectare yields and total output across the province.

 

Urging a departure from outdated practices, he called for stronger collaboration with farming unions and cooperatives. "Our goal is to transition every farmer in the province into a forward-thinking, modern agricultural producer," he said.