Strategic Research Journal of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources

Strategic Research Journal of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources

Review of Some Basic Concepts in Crop Cultivation Patterns in Iran

Document Type : Review article

Author
Assistant Professor, Horticulture Crops Research Department, Isfahan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, AREEO, Isfahan
10.22047/srjasnr.2025.491545.1119
Abstract
Iran’s agricultural sector is facing a multitude of challenges and failure to address any of them will lead to irreparable losses. Among them, the water resource crisis is the most important problem. On the other hand, climate change is putting additional pressure on the country's agricultural sector and production. For this reason, the plan to reform the country's crop cultivation pattern (optimized cultivation) was finally communicated to the country's executive bodies in 2022, after a 5-decade delay. It is expected that after two years of implementing the plan, the necessary coordination is being formed between various government and private agencies and the country's agricultural community. Providing sufficient food for population and livestock, preserving the environment, and achieving sustainability in the agricultural sector are among the major goals in the field of cropping patterns. Although there may be many and varied issues to consider in the cultivation pattern of each region, currently, the Committee for Developing and Monitoring the Country's Agricultural Crop Cultivation Pattern considers issues such as water (including water resources and consumption), soil (including land suitability for growing different crops), climate (including limitations and potentials), crops production management and technology (including production management and dealing with stresses) and crops production economics as fundamental goals in this field and accordingly develops and announces the cultivation pattern of each province. In this article, each of the mentioned factors and their roles in the cultivation pattern are briefly discussed.
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