Iran Agriculture Stats
Author: Edsel.G
Around a third of the total land area of Iran is suited for agriculture. However, only a tenth is actually irrigated and used. Thus, today, while the government is keen on making the country self-sufficient in agricultural produce, Iran still needs to import most of its goods in order to feed the population.
Ironically, Iran’s landscape and geography allow various crops can be grown in huge numbers in many parts of the country. The varying temperatures allow for the growth of multitudes of crops which can be exported to other countries. Even with the best efforts of the Iranian government, a little more than half of all agriculturally arable lands are used.
The most important crops of Iran include wheat and rice. The country managed to export hundreds of thousands tons of wheat in 2005-2007, but they imported more than a million tons of the same produce the following year due to a catastrophic drought. Rice is also produced, but production does not meet the needs of the entire Iranian population, forcing the country to export rice from countries like Pakistan, Panama and the UAE.
Pistachio production is where the good news lies. Essentially, Iran is one of the top producers of pistachio, behind only the US and Turkey, making the agricultural produce one of the country’s top exports. Fruit production is also impressive. Iran is the world’s top exporter of fruits like berries and stone fruits.
Definitions
- Agricultural growth: Index of agricultural production in 1996 - 98 (1989 - 91 = 100)
- Agricultural growth per capita: Net per capita agricultural production, expressed in International Dollars. Net means after deduction of feed and seed. International Dollars are calculated using the Geary-Khamis formula, which is designed to neutralize irrelevant exchange rate movements (more information on http://faostat3.fao.org/faostat-gateway/go/to/mes/glossary/*/E)
- Agricultural land > Sq. km: Agricultural land (sq. km). Agricultural land refers to the share of land area that is arable, under permanent crops, and under permanent pastures. Arable land includes land defined by the FAO as land under temporary crops (double-cropped areas are counted once), temporary meadows for mowing or for pasture, land under market or kitchen gardens, and land temporarily fallow. Land abandoned as a result of shifting cultivation is excluded. Land under permanent crops is land cultivated with crops that occupy the land for long periods and need not be replanted after each harvest, such as cocoa, coffee, and rubber. This category includes land under flowering shrubs, fruit trees, nut trees, and vines, but excludes land under trees grown for wood or timber. Permanent pasture is land used for five or more years for forage, including natural and cultivated crops.
- Agricultural machinery > Tractors: Agricultural machinery refers to the number of wheel and crawler tractors (excluding garden tractors) in use in agriculture at the end of the calendar year specified or during the first quarter of the following year.
- Agricultural machinery > Tractors > Per capita: Agricultural machinery refers to the number of wheel and crawler tractors (excluding garden tractors) in use in agriculture at the end of the calendar year specified or during the first quarter of the following year. Per capita figures expressed per 1,000 population.
- Agriculture, value added > Current US$: Agriculture, value added (current US$), including forestry, hunting, and fishing, as well as cultivation of crops and livestock production. Value added is the net output of a sector after adding up all outputs and subtracting intermediate inputs. It is calculated without making deductions for depreciation of fabricated assets or depletion and degradation of natural resources.
- Arable land > Hectares: Arable land (in hectares) includes land defined by the FAO as land under temporary crops (double-cropped areas are counted once), temporary meadows for mowing or for pasture, land under market or kitchen gardens, and land temporarily fallow. Land abandoned as a result of shifting cultivation is excluded.
- Arable land > Hectares per 1000: Arable land (in hectares) includes land defined by the FAO as land under temporary crops (double-cropped areas are counted once), temporary meadows for mowing or for pasture, land under market or kitchen gardens, and land temporarily fallow. Land abandoned as a result of shifting cultivation is excluded. Figures expressed per thousand population for the same year.
- Arable land > Hectares per capita: Arable land (hectares per person). Arable land (hectares per person) includes land defined by the FAO as land under temporary crops (double-cropped areas are counted once), temporary meadows for mowing or for pasture, land under market or kitchen gardens, and land temporarily fallow. Land abandoned as a result of shifting cultivation is excluded.
- Grains > Rice > Consumption: Figures for 2003/2004
- Grains > Wheat > Consumption: Figures for 2003/2004
- Produce > Crop > Production index: Crop production index shows agricultural production for each year relative to the base period 1999-2001. It includes all crops except fodder crops. Regional and income group aggregates for the FAO's production indexes are calculated from the underlying values in international dollars, normalized to the base period 1999-2001.
- Produce > Food > Production index: Food production index covers food crops that are considered edible and that contain nutrients. Coffee and tea are excluded because, although edible, they have no nutritive value.
- Products: Major agricultural crops and products
- Rural population: Total population living in rural areas. Future estimates are from the UN Population Division.
SOURCES:
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2001; http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=FAO&f=itemCode%3a2051, Agriculture (PIN) +; Food and Agriculture Organization; World Development Indicators database; World Bank national accounts data
United Nations Statistics Division
; World Development Indicators database. Population figures from World Bank: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects, (2) United Nations Statistical Division. Population and Vital Statistics Report (various years), (3) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (4) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (5) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme, and (6) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database.; Food and Agriculture Organization; United States Department of Agriculture; All CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 25 March 2010.; United Nations Population Division. Source tables
Citation
Iran Agriculture Profiles (Subcategories)
| Agricultural machinery 4 | Grains 8 |
| Agriculture 3 | Livestock 3 |
| Arable land 5 | Produce 48 |
| Area 6 | Value added 10 |
| Fertilizer 4 |
2
Around a third of the total land area of Iran is suited for agriculture. However, only a tenth is actually irrigated and used. Thus, today, while the government is keen on making the country self-sufficient in agricultural produce, Iran still needs to import most of its goods in order to feed the population.
Ironically, Iran’s landscape and geography allow various crops can be grown in huge numbers in many parts of the country. The varying temperatures allow for the growth of multitudes of crops which can be exported to other countries. Even with the best efforts of the Iranian government, a little more than half of all agriculturally arable lands are used.
The most important crops of Iran include wheat and rice. The country managed to export hundreds of thousands tons of wheat in 2005-2007, but they imported more than a million tons of the same produce the following year due to a catastrophic drought. Rice is also produced, but production does not meet the needs of the entire Iranian population, forcing the country to export rice from countries like Pakistan, Panama and the UAE.
Pistachio production is where the good news lies. Essentially, Iran is one of the top producers of pistachio, behind only the US and Turkey, making the agricultural produce one of the country’s top exports. Fruit production is also impressive. Iran is the world’s top exporter of fruits like berries and stone fruits.
Posted on 07 Apr 2014
Edsel.G
247 Stat enthusiast
