Seyed Farid Mousavi on Wednesday evening at the inauguration of a livestock and poultry feed supplement production unit and a meeting with activists in this field in Maragheh stated: About 80 percent of Maragheh's economy is linked to agricultural and farming activities, and the livelihood and identity of this city are intertwined with water, soil, and agriculture.
Need for Support for Producers
He added: About 23,000 apple producers are active in Maragheh, and support for producers, development of processing industries, and creation of production chains should be considered in agricultural policy-making.
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The representative of the people of Maragheh and Ajabshir in the parliament pointed to the problems caused by electricity restrictions for production units, stating: Reducing electricity consumption in sectors such as livestock, poultry, and fisheries is unjustifiable, and imposing restrictions in these areas directly harms agricultural producers.
Electricity Consumption Pattern and Its Impact on Production
Mousavi continued: In the established pattern for electricity consumption, 90 percent of last year's consumption is considered as the consumption pattern for this year, while a producer may not have had any activity at a certain point last year but this year aims to increase production and ensure food security.
He emphasized: Such a pattern should not be such that a producer cannot increase production due to electricity restrictions.
The representative of the people of Maragheh and Ajabshir also stressed the need to support production units in securing inputs and said: Special attention should be paid to poultry farms in the allocation of inputs, and necessary support should be provided for the formation of production chains in the livestock and poultry sector.
Development of Processing Industries and Decentralization in Agricultural Management
Mousavi considered the development of processing industries as one of the needs of Maragheh's agricultural sector and added: Banks should provide more support for the agricultural sector and processing industries, and the Agricultural Bank should cooperate according to the priorities of the Ministry of Agricultural Jihad in this regard.
He pointed to the necessity of decentralization in agricultural management, stating: Some of the powers of the general directorates should be delegated to the counties so that the decision-making process and the execution of affairs can be pursued more quickly.
The representative of the people of Maragheh and Ajabshir in the parliament said: The economy of the cities in southern East Azerbaijan is linked to agriculture, and delegating authority to the counties can expedite the process of addressing producers' issues while reducing centralization.
Mousavi also called for the resolution of the status of the lands of the Dryland Research Center along the Maragheh highway and said: The land overlap of this center with the highway project should be resolved so that the completion process of this plan can continue more swiftly.
He pointed to the problems of the land system and stated: Some issues of this system need to be resolved; for example, in cases where land use change has been approved by court order, it cannot be registered in the system, and this issue requires correction.
The representative of the people of Maragheh and Ajabshir in the parliament, in another part of his speech, referred to the status of agricultural cooperatives in the county and said: The agricultural cooperatives in Maragheh are in limbo, and rural cooperation in the county needs to be organized.
Mousavi noted: Rural cooperatives should play a more active role in the agricultural sector to better support producers and rural economies.
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