Tehran, Paris seek to boost cooperation in agriculture, food security

/By AzerNews/

By Sara Rajabova

A French economic and political delegation is in Tehran to lay the groundwork for the first business contracts between France and Iran after the signing of the July nuclear deal.

Medef, France's main business lobby group, has sent a delegation comprising more than 100 firms to Iran, including companies such as oil major Total, airplane manufacturer Airbus and car manufacturer Peugeot.

Iran and France signed five agreements to boost cooperation in the agriculture and food security areas during French delegation’s Iran visit on September 21.

French Agriculture Minister Stephane Le Foll signed the agreements in Tehran with Iranian Agriculture Minister Mahmoud Hojjati, Iran’s IRIB reported.

The two sides discussed ways to cooperate in herbal and animal products, as well as technical and meteorological sciences.

In May 2014, Hojjati met with a group of agricultural industry owners from France. During the meeting, Hojjati said his ministry has put foreign investment at the top of its agenda in a bid to stimulate the country’s agricultural growth.

The minister made it clear that Iran and France could forge stronger cooperation in a range of agricultural products and services, such as production of organic foods, animal husbandry, fish farming, modern irrigation methods, and harvesting techniques.

In Tehran, Le Foll said France has developed methods to save water in agriculture, which can be exported to other countries, including Iran.

He added that added that France and Iran could do a lot in cooperation in research and education in the concerned areas.

Le Foll further said his country is ready to provide Iran with engineered livestock genes for the improvement of milk and meat production at Iranian farms.

Iran and France also inaugurated a joint fish farm on Iran’s southern Island of Qeshm. Hojjati and his visiting French counterpart inaugurated the project via a videoconference on September 21, Fars news agency reported.

Iranian and French companies have invested some two million euros in the joint venture. The farm has the capacity to produce 10 million fry per year. Some 3 million saltwater fish will be produced in the farm per year in the first phase.

Deputy Head of Iran's Fisheries Organization, Hossein Abdolhai said on the sidelines of the ceremony that some part of Iran’s need for fish fry will be supplied via the project. He added that fish fry export to regional countries is on the agenda as well.

Iran exported some $310 million worth of seafood in the past Iranian fiscal year, ending on March 21. The country's sea fishing and aquatic cultivation totaled 900,000 metric tons in the same period.

The French Foreign Ministry’s official statistics showed that Iran’s imports from France fell to $558.22 millionin 2013 from $1.66 billion in 2011. ?

Meanwhile, the Iran Customs Administration put Iran’s non-oil exports to France and imports from the country at $31.5 million and $571.2 million, respectively, in the previous calendar year.