500 Euros of Subsidy Per Hectare for Iranians Willing to Cultivate Medicinal Plants in Macedonia

In an interview with IRNA’s reporter, Mohsen Nourzad Moghaddam, Technical deputy of Medicinal Plants  and Saffron National Plan Center of Ministry of Agriculture Jihad, said that medicinal plants trans-territory cultivation is being carried out in vast areas of Macedonian lands by the Iranians. He added, “Macedonia’s Minister of Agriculture welcomed the idea of trans-territory cultivation of medicinal plants in Macedonia by the Iranians and announced: ‘For one hectare of medicinal plants cultivation in Macedonia, 500 Euros of subsidy is paid to each Iranian.'”

He indicated that the cost of hiring one hectare for medicinal plants cultivation in Macedonia, is 80 Euros. “Those interested in the activities concerning medicinal plants, can refer to Medicinal Plants National Plan Center and express their willingness to cultivate in Macedonia, making it possible for this center to arrange with the Iranian Embassy in Macedonia for the preparatory works.”

Technical deputy of Medicinal Plants  and Saffron National Plan Center of Ministry of Agriculture Jihad, said, “Macedonia, a former Yugoslavia state, has suitable capacities in terms of climatic and natural features. Capacities such as precipitation from 600 to 2000 square millimeter as well as rich soil and vast jungles to produce agricultural crops specially medicinal plants.”

Nourzad Moghaddam noted that Medicinal Plants National Center has had several meetings with great companies in terms of the supply of medicinal plants’ equipment and machinery, he added, “This center’s next destination is China. Iran’s high-ranking officials are planned to travel to this country for further negotiations.”

Iran-Germany Second Medicinal Plants Symposium in Tehran

He pointed out that Iran and Germany’s Second Medicinal Plants Symposium will be held in Tehran, in May 2018. “Considering the arrangements that were made to increase the relationship between the two countries in order to develop medicinal plants industry and to establish a direct link between the private sectors of Iran and Germany, the two countries’ Ministries of Agriculture collaborated and had a meeting of their shared agricultural committee which then led to the two countries’ First Medicinal Plants Symposium, in Berlin and Schweinfurt, from July 24 to 29th. This symposium was attended by a team of high-ranking officials from Iran’s Ministry of Agriculture Jihad and their German counterparts.

Technical deputy of Medicinal Plants and Saffron National Plan Center of Ministry of Agriculture Jihad stated, “In these meetings, issues such as business in the field of medicinal plants as well as processing of food and agricultural products under the relevant technical committee, were discussed. Important decisions were made in order for our country to have closer collaboration with Germany in terms of mechanization, cultivation, growing, harvest, processing as well as the technology transfer of plant pharmacy to Iran. Therefore, to facilitate the business-to-business relationship, there will be a shared symposium between Iran’s private sector and Germany in May of next year.”

Nourzad Moghaddam also noted that the industrial sector in Germany shape the infrastructures for their national economy. He added, “Germany’s agricultural processing industries are subdivisions to the country’s infrastructure industry. The import of medicinal plants and the export of herbal medicine have  special places in Germany’s industry and they are subdivisions to Germany’s processing industries. This European country is the origin of herbal medicine export to countries such as China, India and Iran. They export parts of their herbal medicine productions to the countries where the medicinal plants have been originated from.”

Proper Culturalization; the Reason Why Germans Embraced Natural-based Medicine

He indicated that Germany is among the most important countries to produce medicinal plants and herbal medicine, then noted,”Germany has an important place in Europe as an active country in the field of medicinal plants, approximately 60 percent of the existing medicine in this country consists of herbal medicine. Proper culturalization as well as strengthening the industry of medicinal plants production and processing are the reason why the Germans have welcomed herbal medicine, to a great extent.”

Referring to the cultivation of 112 medicinal plants and herbal species in Germany, technical deputy of Medicinal Plants and Saffron National Plan Center of Ministry of Agriculture Jihad said, “22 of those species are considered more economically important. Furthermore, 93.1 percent of the areas under the cultivation of medicinal plants in Germany, are managed by integrated pest control.”

Nourzad Moghaddam pointed out that 45 thousand tonnes of various herbal medicine is annually consumed in Germany. ” Among the European countries, Germany has the most consumption and demand for this medicine. Although this profitable trade has brought about extinction issues of the herbal species in Germany, studies have shown that natural-based products in this country have market among doctors and patients, to the extent that 75 percent of the market tend to purchase over-the-counter natural-based products from the pharmacies of this country.”

According to the technical deputy, regarding medicinal plants, Germany has large cultivation area, high level of mechanization, climatic restrictions and expensive labor, he added, “Automatic transplanters, weeding tools and various modern machinery and medicinal plants harvesting equipment, were among the equipment and tools of the sites visited by the Iranian team, which they found intriguing.”

Germans Demanding Production of Peppermint, Nigella Sativa and Asparagus

Technical deputy of Medicinal Plants and Saffron National Plan Center of Ministry of Agriculture Jihad pointed out that the main subject of the First Iran-Germany Medicinal Plants Symposium was the cultivation of peppermint, nigella sativa and asparagus in Germany and the potentials of producing them in Iran, he then added, “The pursuing results of the first symposium, are: training courses for Iranian experts and producers of medicinal plants both in Iran and Germany, establishing a link with the German manufacturers of medicinal plants machinery and equipment in order to import the latest machinery and technology to our country, establishing a link with big suppliers for the wholesale of Iran’s medicinal plants as well as the production of medicinal plants such as nigella sativa and asparagus in Iran, at the request of German companies. Moreover, the Germans have identified some regions in Iran, with high potentials for medicinal plants cultivation.”

Nourzad Moghaddam considered Germany as world’s biggest medicinal plants importer and exporter, “Part of Iran’s medicinal plants productions are exported to Germany for processing,” he concluded.