Tehran - Iran’s Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO) has launched a comprehensive national plan to reduce agricultural waste and residues, which could increase the country’s agricultural production by up to 15 million tons with just a 10% reduction in losses, according to the organization’s head.

 

Gholamreza Golmohammadi noted that for the fourth consecutive year, AREEO has implemented the national cropping pattern plan, a key policy expected to save about 5 billion cubic meters of water across the country’s farmlands.

 

Outlining new measures to improve efficiency, the official said a five-year strategic program—implemented in partnership with the private sector—is underway to convert agricultural waste into livestock feed and other useful resources.

 

In a pilot project in West Azarbaijan Province, a feed factory currently produces 15 tons of feed daily from agricultural byproducts such as sunflower husks and molasses, in collaboration with the Animal Science Research Institute. Similar projects are also being developed to recycle sugarcane residues for animal feed.

 

The AREEO chief emphasized that the ongoing cropping pattern initiative has already helped reduce agricultural waste by 10%, translating into an additional 13–14 million tons of production nationwide.

 

He added that production models for fisheries, horticulture, and medicinal plants have been prepared and shared with provincial authorities, noting that the national cultivation plan for medicinal plants will be finalized and officially announced by the end of the week.