Country Status Reports on Agricultural Biotechnology by Fariborz Ehteshami, AREEO, Iran

1. Country status Report on
Agricultural Biotechnology
Iran
Fariborz Ehteshami

2. Necessity of Agricultural
biotechnology
• It is expected by 2030, the world’s population
will rise to 8.1 billion.
• Almost all of this population increase will
occur in Developing countries.
• Increase food demand.
• Some authors believe that there is currently
sufficient food
• The problem of hunger is not of quantity, but
of unequal distribution. 1999.)

3. Necessity of Agricultural
biotechnology
• In the short-term, resolve the issue of
distribution, with a growing population the
amount of food demanded will necessarily
grow in the long term.
• production of food with less arable land
available to agriculture, fewer non-renewable
resources, less water and fewer people
engaged in primary agriculture.

4. Necessity of Agricultural
biotechnology
• Agricultural biotechnology may contribute to solving
the issues of poverty and food insecurity
• Critical questions in order to ensure that
biotechnologies will reach and address the problems:
• What are the necessary institutional and research
infrastructures to supply appropriate agricultural
biotechnologies to developing countries?
• How can developing countries guide the development
of poor agricultural biotechnologies?
• What is the impact of biotechnology on the
environment, human health or on the livelihood of the
rural poor?

5. Area
1,648,195 km2 (17th)
Population (in 2017)
79,926,270
Climate
Having 11 climates out of the world's 13, Iran's climate is
diverse, ranging from arid and semi-arid to temperate
humidity

6. Accounts for 10-13 % of GDP
Jobs: 18-20%
 Export: 30% of non-oil exports
 Production over 118 MT/Year (2015)
 Self reliance on food > 90%
Amongst the top ten world producers for 20 agricultural
products
Agriculture Sector in the National Economy

7. Vision of Agriculture Sector
Enhancing sustainable agricultural productivity and
food security, while conserving natural resources
Objectives of 6th National Development Plan in Ag Sector
Improve conservation and sustainable utilization of basic
agricultural and natural resources
Increase water productivity in agriculture
Enhance self-reliance index in strategic crops
Develop export-based horticultural industry

8. Distribution of Biotechnology Centers of
Different Disciplines in Iran
Number of
centers
Disciplines
23Agriculture and natural resources
9Basic sciences
15Medicine
8Industry and Environment
55Total

9. Agricultural Research, Education and Extension
Organization(AREEO)
An Important National and Regional Player
in Agricultural Science, Technology and Development
AREEO

10. Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization
(AREEO)
Private Colleges
Technical Skills
Colleges
67 Universities or Higher Education Centers
Education Research
Agricultural Science and Technology in Iran

11. 10640 employee across the country
 Over 2080faculty members
 19 nationwide institutes
 34Provincial Agricultural Research Centers
Human, Scientific and Technical Capacity

12. AREEO
ICARDA
CIMMYT
IRRI
IWMI ICRISAT
CIAT
CIP
.Biov. Int
I. Collaboration with CGIAR Research Centers,
Offices of 3 CG Centers

13. AREEO
APAARI
OECD
UFRO AARINENA
IOBC
ICC
ISTA
IIRB
WFC
II. Important Player in International Scientific Fora

14. Education
Management
of Genetic
Resource and
Diversity
Research and
Technology
Development of
Technological
Products
Certification,
Registration
and Quality
Control
AREEO
Extension
AREEO’s National Mandates

16. II. Network of Agricultural Research Centers and Stations
 34Provincial research centers
 Nearly 400 research stations and sites across the country
III. Research Facilities
Over 500 laboratories
 Approximately 105000 ha of lands
IV. Remarkably Diverse Agrobiodiversity
 National Plant Gene-bank (NPGBI)
 Gene-bank of forest and rangeland plants
 Gene-bank of microorganisms
 Conservation sites of animal and fishery genetic resources
 Herbaria
 Botanical gardens and arboretums
 Invertebrates museums

17. Crop Research and Breeding
Field Crops
Dryland and Irrigated
 Horticultural Crops
Fruit Trees
Vegetables
Ornamental
Tea & Medicinal Plants

18. Regionally and Internationally Recognized Crop
Breeding Programs

19. Number
Crop varieties released
as of 2015
148Wheat
FieldCrops
52Barley
31Maize
49Rice
25Sugar beet
74Oil seeds
16Cotton
35Vegetables & Bean
430Total
195Temperate fruits
Horticultural
Crops
123Citrus and subtropical fruits
41Ornamental plants
38Dates and tropical fruits
9Pistachio
6Tea
842412Total19

20. Characterization and introduction of 354 new species to the world
Develop management guidelines to control ~600 damaging agents.
Introduced 10 biocontrol agents for 300 thousand hectares
Monitoring the residual of registered pesticides
Formulating insects’ pheromones for tracking and monitoring pests
Pest and Disease Management

21. Registered pesticide/formulations : 341
Plant Protection Research
Insecticide:98
Fungicides:85
Acarcidies:16 Raticides:23
Snailcides:4
Nematodcides:6
Other:9
Herbicide: 100

22. Identification, conservation and monitoring of Iranian plants:
 A gene-bank of 45000 accessions
 Development of forest and rangeland management knowledge and
technologies
 Development of technologies for medicinal plants
 Development of a populous tree cultivar and two new rose cultivars
Forest and Rangeland Research

23. Out of about 8,000 plant species
recoded in Iran, nearly 4,000 species
have been published in 84 volumes
of “Flora of Iran”.

24. Developed detailed maps of Iranian soils
Developed national soil information database
Application of land management information tools, GIS and RS
Developed soil testing network across the country
Assessed nutrient requirement for all Iranian crops
Soil and Water Research

25. Development of watershed management knowhow
Development of soil conservation and flood reduction techniques
Monitoring climate change and drought
Soil Conservation and Watershed Management

26.  Production of GM rice, cotton and potato plants
 Development of micropropagation protocols for horticultural crops
 Development of extraction protocols for bio-compounds of plants
 Producing enzymes such as xylanase and cellulase for poultry feed
 Preparation of nano-emulsion coatings designed to increase crop
shelf life
Agricultural Biotechnology Research Institute of Iran

27. 27
With 12 research centers across the country
Restoration shrimp resources in the Persian Gulf
Developing plant based disinfectant, Avishit
replacing deadly Malashit
Monitoring and assessment of aquatic resources
Cage culture technique for fish production
Developing production techniques of aquatics
Pearl oyster propagation and culture
Research on Fisheries

28. 240 percent increase of honey production
10 times improvement in swarming tendency with overwintering
superiority
Genetically Improved Iranian Honey Bee Queen
Research on Livestock

29. Production of animal feed from processed
sugarcane tops

31. Technologies Developed and Commercialized by AREEO
Through Licensing to the Private Sector as of 2015
21 23
36 42
56
98
126
200
214
0
50
100
150
200
250
No.ofcontractsandagreements
Year
Previous years 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

32. Knowledge-based Spinoff Companies,
Established by the Support of AREEO
32
58
104
146
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
No.ofknowledge-basedcompanies
Year
2014 2015 2016 2017

33. Nucleus Seeds Produced
Nucleus Seeds Produced
Total
seed
Wheat
Barley16.4
70
92Ton
Year
2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016

34. Among the largest vaccine producers of the
world with 3.5 billion doses of:
 Over 70 vaccines and biological products
with a value of 400 million dollars
 90% of animal vaccines
 60% of poultry vaccines
 70% of human vaccines
 100% of antivenom and polyvalent
 Five to ten new products annually
Production of Vaccines and Therapeutic Serums

35. Education Division,
Capacities and Achievements

36. NumberCenters
85Learning Centers
239Laboratories
143Workshops
60Educational Farms
Over 16000Agricultural College Students
Capacities and Achievements

37. Focus on continuous
training of farmers
Technical and vocational
education
Education Reform
Short term education
instead of degree programs

38. Extension Division,
Capacities and Achievements

39. NumberCenters
1139Agricultural Centers
8315Personnel
2200Engineering and Technical Consultancy Companies
Over 8000Agricultural Extensionists
Over 2000Media types in Iran Agricultural Extension Hall
Capacities of National Extension Network

40. www.Win2Farsi.comCompany Logo
Development of Ag Service Centers1
Mapping of Production Fields
Support of Education System33
2
Major Achievements

41. Reforming Extension Network using IT

43. With these we bring
smile on farmer’s face