AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH IN IRAN POLICY, INVESTMENTS, AND INSTITUTIONAL PROFILE Gert-Jan Stads, Mohammad H. Roozitalab, Nienke M. Beintema, and Minoo Aghajani October 2008 ASTI Country Report In memoriam of Dr. Mohsen Mohsenin International Food Policy Research Institute Agricultural Extension, Education and Research Organization i About the ASTI Initiative The Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators (ASTI) initiative compiles, processes, and makes available data on institutional developments and investments in agricultural R&D worldwide, and analyzes and reports on these trends. Tracking these developments in ways that make for meaningful comparisons among different countries, types of agencies, and points in time is critical for keeping policymakers abreast of science policy issues pertaining to agriculture. The main objective of the ASTI initiative is to assist policymakers and donors in making better informed decisions about the funding and operation of public and private agricultural science and technology agencies by making available internationally comparable information on agricultural research investments and institutional changes. Better informed decisions will improve the efficiency and impact of agricultural R&D systems and ultimately enhance the productivity growth of the agriculture sector. The ASTI initiative is managed by the International Service for National Agricultural Research Division of the International Food Policy Research Institute (www.ifpri.org) and comprises a network of national, regional, and international agricultural R&D agencies. Primary funding for the ASTI initiative’s survey round in Asia was provided by the World Bank and IFPRI core funding. ASTI data and associated reports are made freely available for research policy formulation and priority-setting purposes, and can be found at the ASTI website: www.asti.cgiar.org . About the Authors Gert-Jan Stads is a program coordinator with IFPRI, Mohammad H. Roozitalab is a Senior Advisor on International Research Collaboration at AEERO, Nienke Beintema is program head of the ASTI initiative at IFPRI, and Minoo Aghajani , now retired, was the Director of Scientific and Research Cooperation Bureau at AREO (now AEERO). Acknowledgements The authors are grateful to Mr. Mohammad S. Harandi and Ms. Zahra Zamani from AREO's Scientific and Research Cooperation Bureau for their valuable contribution and cooperation and other numerous focal points at the research institutes and universities in Iran for their time and assistance in collecting data. They also thank Dr. Hamid Siadat and Dr. Mohammad H Mahdian for contributing useful comments on drafts of this report and Jifar Tarekegn for his assistance in inputting data and producing tables and graphs. This country report has undergone an informal peer review, but it has not been formally reviewed through IFPRI’s Publications Review Committee. The views expressed in the paper are those of the authors, not necessarily the organizations to which they belong. Copyright © 2008 International Food Policy Research Institute and Agricultural Research and Education Organization. All rights reserved. Sections of this report may be reproduced without the express permission of, but with acknowledgment to, IFPRI and AREO. To reproduce the material contained herein for profit or commercial use requires express written permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables ii List of Figures ii List of Acronyms iii Abstract v Introduction 1 Macroeconomic Context 1 Science and Technology Policies and Investments 2 The Organization of Iranian Agricultural R&D 4 Agricultural Research and Education Organization 4 Institutional Categories 5 Linkages and Cooperation 12 Human Resources in Public Agricultural R&D 14 Degree Status 16 Gender 19 Support Staff 21 Public Agricultural R&D Investment Trends 23 Spending per Scientist 24 Cost Categories 25 Intensity Ratios 27 Financing Public Agricultural R&D 27 Private Agricultural R&D 30 Research Orientation 32 Commodity Focus 33 Thematic Focus 36 Conclusion 38 References 40 Appendix A. ASTI Methodology and Data Collection 41 Appendix B. Historical Perspectives 45 Appendix C. Government Agencies, Nonprofit Organizations, and Higher Education Agencies in Iran 47 i TABLES 1. Composition of agricultural R&D expenditures and researchers, 2004 5 2. Size distribution of agricultural R&D agencies, 2004 16 3. Thematic focus, 2004 37 FIGURES 1. Composition of public agricultural researchers, 2000–04 15 2. Educational attainment of research staff by institutional category, 2004 17 3. Share of female researchers, 2004 20 4. Degree levels of male and female researchers, 2004 21 5. Number of support staff per researcher, 2000 and 2004 22 6. Composition of public agricultural R&D expenditures, 2000-04 23 7. Differences in level of expenditure per researcher, 2000-04 25 8. Cost-category shares in government and nonprofit agencies’ expenditures, 2004 26 9. Iran’s agricultural research intensity compared regionally and globally 27 10. Funding sources of government and nonprofit agencies, 2000 and 2004 28 11. Agricultural R&D staff in the private sector, 2000-04 31 12. Commodity focus, 2004 33 13. Congruence between agricultural R&D and production value, 2004 36 ii ACRONYMS AAARI Artemia and Aquatic Animal Research Institute AARINENA Agricultural Research Institutions in the Near East and North Africa ABRII Agricultural Biotechnology Research Institute of Iran AEERO Agricultural Extension, Education and Research Organization AERI Agricultural Engineering Research Institute AgGDP agricultural gross domestic product APAARI Asia-Pacific Association Agricultural Research Institutions APERI Agricultural Planning and Economic Research Institute AREC Agricultural Research and Education Council AREO Agricultural Research and Education Organization ARLSC Agricultural Research and Laboratory Services ASRI Animal Sciences Research Institute ASTI Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators BFIRC Beverages and Fruit Juices Industrial Research Center CACAARI Caucasus Association of Agricultural Research Institutions CGIAR Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research CIMMYT International Center for Maize and Wheat Improvement EAANRRC East Azerbaijan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Center FANRRC Fars Agriculture and Natural Resources Research Center fte full-time equivalent GDP gross domestic product GFAR Global Forum for Agricultural Research GSFARLS Gharb Sugar Factories Agronomic Research and Laboratory Services Company HCSRT High Council of Science, Research and Technology HSAIC Hafttapeh Sugarcane Agro-Industry Company IANRRC Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Center ICARDA International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas ICRISAT International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics IFRI Iran Fisheries Research Institute INSF Iran National Science Foundation (Fund) IRRI International Rice Research Institute IWMI International Water Management Institute JKARC Jiroft and Kahnouj Agricultural Research Center KANRRC Khorasan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Center KSRAS Khorasan Sugar Beet Research and Agronomic Services Company MOJA Ministry of Jihad-e Agriculture MzANRRC Mazandaran Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Center OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development PFIRC Pesticide and Fertilizer Industrial Research Center PIRC Pesticides Research Center of Agricultural Supporting Services Company iii PPDRI Plant Pests and Diseases Research Institute PPP purchasing power parity R&D research and development RIFR Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands RVSRI Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute SAAHC Sefidroud Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Company SCWMRI Soil Conservation and Watershed Management Research Institute SPII Seed and Plant Improvement Institute SWRI Soil and Water Research Institute S&T science and technology UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization USRTS Urmia Sugar Beet Research and Technical Services Company WAANRRC West Azerbaijan Agriculture and Natural Resources Research Center iv ABSTRACT This report presents an overview of Iran’s national agricultural R&D system in terms of institutional developments and recent trends in human and financial resources based on data collected under the Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators (ASTI) initiative. In 2004, close to 4,700 full-time equivalent (fte) scientists were involved in public agricultural research (that is, excluding the private sector) in Iran, which represented an 18 percent increase over levels recorded in 2000. Public agricultural research in Iran is largely conducted by the Agricultural Research and Education Organization (AREO), currently known as the Agricultural Extension, Education and Research Organization (AEERO). 44 percent of the country’s agricultural scientists were employed at one of 32 AREO–affiliated provincial research centers, while another one-third were employed at one of AREO’s 24 national research centers. These provincial government agencies are typically charged with all agricultural R&D within a particular province, while their national counterparts focus on one particular commodity or discipline. Non-AREO government agencies and higher education agencies play only a modest role in public agricultural R&D in Iran, accounting for just 8 and 11 percent of total fte agricultural research staff in 2004, respectively. In 2004, Iran invested $432 million in public agricultural R&D