SOIL AND WATER RESEARCH INSTITUTE (SWRI) HOSTS A EXPERT-LEVEL JOINT MEETING WITH IRAQI OFFICIALS
The expert-level joint meeting of soil and water officials of Iran and Iraq was held at the Soil and Water Research Institute (SWRI) with the aim of taking advantages of Iran's capabilities and potential in the field of sustainable soil management, irrigation and technical knowledge transfer and production experiences under saline conditions.
According to the International Relations Affairs of the Soil and Water Research Institute, the expert-level joint meeting of soil and water officials of Iran and Iraq was held at the SWRI with the aim of taking advantages of Iran's capabilities and potential in the field of sustainable soil management, irrigation and technical knowledge transfer and production experiences in saline conditions.
Dr. Hadi Asadi Rahmani, head of the soil and water research institute of Iran,
introduced a brief history of SWRI from formation on 1952, mission and vision, activities and capabilities, most important achievements of the institute's research departments and expressed hope for the joint cooperation between the two countries of Iran and Iraq.
Dr. Assadi Rahmani, while emphasizing the determination of policies, planning and setting priorities for executive actions, said the achievements of the Soil and Water Research Institute play a key role in developing the cultivation pattern of Iran that can be implemented in Iraq as well.
Dr. Assadi outlined the seven axes of the institute's strategic program, including Identification of Soil Resources and Land Potential, Quantitative and Qualitative Monitoring of Agricultural Soil and Water, Water Demand-Oriented Management in the farm, Management of Soil and Water in Saline Conditions, Management of Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition, Management of Soil Organic Carbon, Management of Soil, Water and Plant Contamination, he said: “The most of the research activities of the SWRI are based on these seven main topics”.
Dr. Fariborz Abbasi, the senior supervisor of the Mega-project for the development of modern irrigation systems of the Ministry of Agricultural Jahad, stated that Iraq has a significant capacity to receive technical and engineering services from Iran, and we can have good collaborations with this country in the form of a research and study contract. Additionally, he pointed that SWRI has many experiences in the field of the use of saline water and wastewater, which can be shared between the two countries.
In continuation to this meeting, Dr. Nasser Davatgar, Director General of the Soil Affairs Office of the Ministry of Agricultural Jahad, referring to the long history of the SWRI, said: the main activities of the country in the field of soil mainly are carried out in the form of research and development by the Soil and Water Research Institute.
Dr. Davatgar mentioned the most important planning priorities of the country in the field of soil as follows; The completion of soil science studies on a detailed scale, monitoring the resilience of the country's soils to destruction and erosion, maintaining and improving soil organic carbon, increasing of the fertility quality of the country's soils, improving the saline soils of the country.
After that, the meeting continued with the presentation of the most important activities and recent achievements of the institute's research departments by the heads of the research departments of SWRI and the visiting of the Iraqi officials to the laboratory of chemistry, physics and fertilizer technology as well as the laboratory of soil biology and biotechnology.
This joint meeting was held on Saturday 17 February, 2024 with the presence of the Director General, Deputy Director General for research and Deputy Director General for Human Resources Planning and Development of SWRI the Director General of the Soil Affairs Office of the Ministry of Agricultural Jahad, the senior supervisor of the Mega-project for the development of modern irrigation systems of the Ministry of Agricultural Jahad, Representatives of the National Salinity Research Center of Iran, an Iraqi officials consisting of the Director of the Modern Irrigation and Mechanization Technologies Project for the Ministry of Agriculture, Head of the Soil and Water Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, Head of the Relations, Media and International Cooperation Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and an expert of the Soil and Water Department of the Ministry of Agriculture (Iraq).