Agriculture Ministry urges expanded FAO support in crisis conditions
Iran’s Agriculture Ministry called on the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Saturday to expand technical and emergency cooperation with Tehran, including support for development and crisis-response projects.
Hassan Momeni, head of international affairs and specialized organizations at Iran’s Agriculture Ministry, called for continued FAO technical assistance to the agricultural sector during a meeting with the agency’s representative in Tehran, according to the ministry.
Momeni said Iran wanted stronger cooperation in joint Technical Cooperation Program (TCP) projects as well as FAO emergency initiatives typically provided to countries facing crisis conditions such as war.
He thanked the FAO for maintaining cooperation during wartime conditions in Iran and cited the organization’s role in laboratory support and capacity-building for the ministry.
“With the help of the FAO, a specialized regional hub can be created to transfer agricultural knowledge to neighboring countries that need Iran’s expertise,” Momeni said.
He also urged the organization to intensify efforts to attract international financial donors for Iran’s agricultural sector despite existing restrictions.
FAO representative in Iran Farrukh Toirov said the agency had continued its cooperation with Iran’s Agriculture Ministry over the past two months despite difficult conditions and that joint projects and services had not been disrupted.
Toirov said expanding FAO projects could also help develop Iran’s agricultural trade and economic sectors because agricultural products are not directly subject to international sanctions.
He added that financing constraints and sanctions-related limitations remained obstacles to expanding projects, but said he would discuss increasing Iran’s allocation in FAO programs with senior officials at the organization.
Iran’s agricultural sector has faced growing challenges in recent years from drought, inflation, currency depreciation and sanctions that have complicated access to financing, technology and imported inputs, although food and agricultural goods are formally exempt from most Western sanctions regimes.