But what about rice cultivation in Kermanshah
The head of the Plains Rehabilitation and Balancing Group of the Kermanshah Regional Water Company stated that the amount of rice cultivation in the province reached 2,000 hectares last year, and said: More than 400 hectares of this amount have been irrigated by illegal wells.
Ali Jalilian in a meeting to adapt to water shortage in Kermanshah province said: In previous cropping years, rice cultivation in Kermanshah province was close to one thousand hectares and eventually reached 1,500 hectares, but last cropping year this amount reached more than two thousand hectares, which is why This was due to the floods earlier this year and the possibility of people taking advantage of these conditions.
The head of the Plains Rehabilitation and Balancing Group of the Kermanshah Regional Water Company pointed out: The important point is that of these 2,000 hectares, 1,400 hectares were irrigated by surface water, but the rest was irrigated by well water, of which 403 hectares were irrigated. It was the location of illegal wells.
Jalilian said that the main rice cultivation is related to Deira and Chamchal plains and emphasized: the rest of the rice cultivation is scattered and more in Sahneh, Harsin, Sarpol-e-Zahab and Gilan-e-Gharb cities.
He stated that according to the 1397 decree of the government board, rice cultivation should be banned in other provinces except the two northern provinces, he said: For this purpose, we tried to set up a cannabis program to eliminate rice cultivation in the province within three years, but still researcher Has not been.
The head of the Plains Rehabilitation and Balancing Group of the Kermanshah Regional Water Company, referring to the significant water consumption of rice cultivation, which reaches more than 20,000 cubic meters per hectare, noted: Even if surface water is used for rice cultivation, it causes Downstream lands can be deprived of sufficient water.
Jalilian also said about the reasons for farmers’ tendency to cultivate rice: In the past, when the dollar was cheap, the price of imported Indian and Pakistani rice was also low, but now that the price of these rice has risen and is closer to Iranian rice, people are more inclined to consume Iranian rice. .
He stated: When the cultivation of each hectare of rice earns 35 to 40 million Tomans for the farmer, it will encourage them.
Ali Moradi, deputy director of protection and operation of Kermanshah Regional Water Company, also mentioned rice cultivation as a challenge for Kermanshah province’s water resources and added: 22 to 24 thousand cubic meters of water is needed to irrigate each hectare of rice.
Moradi cited high incomes, as well as farmers’ difficulties in selling other crops, as reasons for encouraging farmers to grow rice.
Shahram Kahrizi, director general of the Kermanshah governor’s technical office, said that the ban on rice cultivation should apply to all provinces. We should impose sanctions on ourselves in Kermanshah and stop rice cultivation, but neighboring provinces such as Khuzestan and Lorestan should plant rice, he said. These conditions of unemployment in the province are not logical.
He believes that this will cause the water that we do not use in the province to go down and be used in other provinces.
Seyed Afshin Safavi, Deputy Minister of Crop Production Improvement of Kermanshah Agricultural Jihad, also said: Although we should think about sustainable agriculture and pay attention to water resources and the environment, but rice cultivation through surface water and in a controlled manner is defensible Is.
He continued: We do not agree in any way with the cultivation of rice through wells, whether allowed or not.
Safavid considered the issue of rice drought, which was raised for some provinces, including Golestan, as inapplicable for Kermanshah province.