Resource information
This report addresses key structural,
institutional, and sectoral policy impediments to achieving
a higher, and sustained economic growth in the sector, and
poverty reduction in rural areas of Iran. It focuses mainly
on an assessment of agricultural development outcomes, a
discussion of the agricultural policy agenda, and provides
recommendations for future policy dialogue between the Bank,
and the Government of Iran. On examining development
outcomes, the report assesses the agricultural sector's
contribution, which - though in decline - has displayed
rapid growth (4.9 percent) during the course of the
1990's; identifies the strong rural content of poverty
in Iran, where the proportion of the rural population living
in households with income below the poverty line, is the
highest; and, examines the increasing pressures on the
natural resources, with deforestation and erosion reaching
alarming proportions. Policy in the sector has been driven
largely by the need to rely on domestic production, to meet
the needs of a rapidly increasing demand. However, and
despite significant rural development achievements, an
inadequate market structure, and organization for commodity
markets, land fragmentation, and related social issues, are
hindering further development in agriculture and rural
areas. Iran's agricultural exports face several
constraints that arise from conflicting domestic policies
relating to production, storage, distribution, food
security, and pricing concerns. In the short-term, the Bank
could provide input into the development of a Strategic
Framework for Sustainable Agricultural and Rural
Development, in the form of high impact focused technical
studies, following the approach used with the energy
subsidies. This could lead eventually to a comprehensive,
and participatory Agricultural and Rural Development
Strategy Note. Knowledge sharing with the private, and
public sector requiring first in-depth studies, could be
provided before putting in place a series of show-case
projects, to transfer international best-practices in areas
such as, marketing, land reform, or human development.
