Allocation of 8 thousand hectares of land in agricultural settlements for the construction of a greenhouse
8 thousand hectares of land in agricultural settlements have been given to people for investment and construction of greenhouses in the last 4 years.
According to the Ministry of Jihad and Agriculture, a member of the Board of Directors of the Agricultural Settlements Company said: We have allocated nearly 25 thousand hectares of agricultural settlement land for the study of greenhouses development, of which about 8 thousand hectares have been handed over to the people for investment within 4 years. So far, 1,260 hectares of greenhouses have been put into operation.
Farzad Zalghi stated: Nearly 40 thousand hectares of land in the country are owned by the Agricultural Settlements Company, which are organized in the form of 322 settlements, and we have allocated more than 50% of these areas to greenhouses.
He clarified: The policy of the Ministry of Agricultural Jihad is to increase the area of greenhouses in the country to 150,000 hectares and transfer a major part of vegetable and summer crops to greenhouse environments, an important part of which is the responsibility of the Greenhouse Settlements Company.
He added: The creation of each hectare of greenhouse provides direct employment for at least 10 people and indirect employment for a large number of people.
Zalghi said about the credit required for the construction of a greenhouse: the construction and operation of each hectare of a modern greenhouse requires at least 15 billion tomans on average.
He cited the lack of credit and bank facilities as one of the problems of developing greenhouses in the country and stated: farmers or investors can provide about 30% of the capital required for the construction and operation of the greenhouse, and the rest should be provided through bank facilities.
The member of the board of directors of the agricultural settlements company also acknowledged the size of the greenhouses: we believe that the land area of each agricultural settlement should be 50 hectares or more and the surface of each greenhouse should be at least one hectare for economic activity to take place.
Referring to greenhouse structures, he stated: We have good manufacturers in the field of greenhouses in the country who have been able to reverse engineer even the Dutch technology of glass greenhouses.
Zalghi continued: Most of the greenhouses are covered with plastic, and we are moving towards glass and modern greenhouses and hydroponics.
At the same time, he said: The type of structure of greenhouses in each province depends on the climatic conditions, amount of rain and wind.