PM Chairs A Meeting To Follow Up Reforms In The Agricultural File And Issues A Number Of Directives

Prime Minister Muhammad al-Sudani chaired today, Monday, a meeting at the headquarters of the General Company for Construction Industries, one of the departments of the Ministry of Industry and Minerals, devoted to following up on structural reforms in the agricultural file.

At the outset of the meeting, Al-Sudani pointed out the importance of adopting irrigation systems in order to increase production, address water scarcity, and the measures taken to shift from traditional irrigation systems to modern systems, at an affordable price and in a quick time, according to a clear plan and vision in distribution.

The Prime Minister stressed, according to a statement by his media office, the necessity of adopting a specific plan, with roles distributed among all parties, and that agricultural lands for which water is available be selected to operate irrigation systems.

During the meeting, Al-Sudani referred to the previous deficiencies and delays in distributing irrigation systems and the need to avoid them. He directed to form a team headed by the Minister of Agriculture to manage the process, and to cancel all sub-committees to prevent conflicts and interference in implementation.

In order to facilitate the speed of implementation and meet the needs of farmers, Al-Sudani directed the contracting between the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Industry and Minerals to equip irrigation systems, and to involve agricultural associations in all committees concerned with implementing the reforms targeted by the government, and for these associations to organize coordination between water users.

The meeting witnessed a review of the lending mechanisms for farmers. Al-Sudani directed the concerned authorities to follow an easy path in administrative requirements, facilitate loans and adopt simplified procedures in the process of granting them.

The meeting was attended by the Ministers of Industry and Minerals, and Agriculture, a number of advisors in the Prime Minister’s office, the general directors of the two ministries, in addition to the head of the agricultural associations and a number of officials in the Central Bank and the Agricultural Bank.

The Prime Minister made a field visit to Al-Nu’man factory of the General Company for Construction Industries, which is specialized in agricultural equipment and the provision of modern irrigation systems for farmers. He was briefed at the workflow and continuity of production, and the most important challenges facing the production process in the factory, represented by the high costs of the product and the competition of the imported, despite the existence of a product protection fee.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

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