IRAN WILLING TO SHARE K-FARMING TECHINQUES WITH MALAYSIA

By Sajad Hussein

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 24 (Bernama) -- Iran, which has attained a 94 per cent
self-sufficiency in food production, is willing to share its knowledge-based
farming system (k-farming) with Malaysia and other Muslim nations in modernising
farms especially in rural areas.

Iran deputy agriculture minister Dr J. Khalghani said the system had helped
the country to significantly transform its agricultural sector, resulting in
high yield agricultural production, enabling the country to increase its export.


Under the system, farmers are sent to one of the country's 60 special
education centres, located mainly in strategic rural areas, where they learn
specific techniques to improve farming.

The curriculum was very practical and flexible and farmers took only courses
which helped them in improving the yield of a particular crop they were
cultivating, he said.

In an exclusive interview with Bernama ahead of the three-day Developing
Eight (D8) Ministerial Meeting on Food Security beginning here Wednesday,
Khalgani said a farmer who cultivated rice, for example, would take up a course
pertaining to rice growing.

Apart from rice, Iran is also the producer of wheat, sugar beet, sugar cane,
fruit, nuts and dairy products.

Khalghani, who will be leading his country's delegation to the eight-nation
meet, said another factor which boosted Iran's agricultural production was
research and development (R&D).

"The ministry has 5,000 research centres all over the country, and all
researches can be readily implemented.

"Each year we get 4,000 to 5,000 project papers, and out of this we
implement about 1,200 projects," he added.

Besides research centres run by the agriculture ministry, he said, the
science and technology ministry and universities had their own agriculture,
biotechology, nuclear and nano research facilities.

Khalghani said Iran would also like to contribute its technical and
practical experience not only to the eight Islamic countries in the D8 grouping
but also to other countries.

On the Food Security conference, Khalghani said Iran would propose the
following:
+ To set up a common market within the grouping;
+ To set a standard on scientific research which could be internationally
accepted;
+ To increase technical and scientific cooperation among member countries;
and
+ To set up a mechanism to support each other in times of shortages or price
escalation.

Besides Iran and host Malaysia, six other countries attending the meeting
are Egypt, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Turkey and Nigeria.

Saudi Arabia, Brunei and Qatar would attend as observers.
-- BERNAMA