Islamic Republic of Iran Project for Study on Small Farming and Rural Development Plan for Poverty Reduction in South Khorassan
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ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN MINISTRY OF JIHAD-E-AGRICULTURE JIHAD-E-AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF SOUTH KHORASSAN PROVINCE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN PROJECT FOR STUDY ON SMALL FARMING AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR POVERTY REDUCTION IN SOUTH KHORASSAN FINAL REPORT MARCH 2013 JAPAN INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AGENCY (JICA) NTC INTERNATIONAL CO., LTD. RD CTI ENGINEERING JR INTERNATIONAL CO., LTD. 13-040 Project for Study on Small Farming and Rural Development Plan for Poverty Reduction in South Khorassan in the Islamic Republic of Iran Final Report South Khorassan Tehran Province South Khorassan Province Map of Iran Razavi Khorassan Province Boshroye Ferdows Qaen Study Area Sarayan Afghanistan Darmian Yazd Province Birjand Sarbisheh Birjand South Khorassan Province Nehbandan Kerman Province Sistan and Baluchestan Province Map of Study Area (South Khorassan Province) Project for Study on Small Farming and Rural Development Plan for Poverty Reduction in South Khorassan in the Islamic Republic of Iran Final Report Map of Villages Project for Study on Small Farming and Rural Development Plan for Poverty Reduction in South Khorassan in the Islamic Republic of Iran Final Report Photo Gallery 1. Characteristics of the Study Area Alghourat Rural Municipality Kahshang Rural Municipality (Felarg village [front] and Borgeziad village [back]) (Jalal village) Agricultural field Qanat pond (Alghor village) (Neysetan village) Vertical shaft of qanat Qanat exit P - 1 Project for Study on Small Farming and Rural Development Plan for Poverty Reduction in South Khorassan in the Islamic Republic of Iran Final Report 2. Current Irrigation Methods Water allocation 1 Water allocation 2 Division gate Basin irrigation Parallel canals P - 2 Project for Study on Small Farming and Rural Development Plan for Poverty Reduction in South Khorassan in the Islamic Republic of Iran Final Report 3. Specialty Products of the Study Area Harvest of barberries Indoor drying of barberries Machine for cleaning up barberries Final cleanup of barberries by hands Cleanup of jujube Barberries and jujube sold in a dried products shop P - 3 Project for Study on Small Farming and Rural Development Plan for Poverty Reduction in South Khorassan in the Islamic Republic of Iran Final Report 4. Trial of Water Saving Irrigation Water tank installed by the owner of the field Water distribution tank for drip irrigation test (V=7~8m3) (V=6m3) Drip pipelines for barberries Tensiometers installed for barberries Sampling for soil moisture content test Intake rate measuring test P - 4 Project for Study on Small Farming and Rural Development Plan for Poverty Reduction in South Khorassan in the Islamic Republic of Iran Final Report 5. Pilot Project for Improvement of Agriculture and Livestock Techniques Net-house Cultivation of tomato Vinyl tunnel cultivation in winter (clockwise from Sprout cultivation left-back, spinach, lettuce, basil, and leek) Forage cultivation Chickens one month after hatching P - 5 Project for Study on Small Farming and Rural Development Plan for Poverty Reduction in South Khorassan in the Islamic Republic of Iran Final Report 6. Pilot Project of Distribution and Marketing Market survey in retail shop in Birjand Market survey outside the Province (Zahedan) Training on processing lavashak 1 Training on processing lavashak 2 Practice on packaging Packaged products P - 6 Project for Study on Small Farming and Rural Development Plan for Poverty Reduction in South Khorassan in the Islamic Republic of Iran Final Report Wednesday market in Birjand, crowded by shoppers Trial sales in Wednesday market 7. Pilot Project of Income Source Diversification and Livelihood Improvement Activities Training on managing account book for rural Visit by MOJA’s Deputy of Rural Women Affairs women’s fund Bureau Training on cloth weaving Produced towels P - 7 Project for Study on Small Farming and Rural Development Plan for Poverty Reduction in South Khorassan in the Islamic Republic of Iran Final Report Practice on bee keeping Honey extraction Practice on sewing Produced blouse Oyster mushroom cultivation Harvested oyster mushroom P - 8 Project for Study on Small Farming and Rural Development Plan for Poverty Reduction in South Khorassan in the Islamic Republic of Iran Final Report Executive Summary 1. Introduction (1) Background of the Study In Iran, migration of population from rural to urban areas, caused by a significant economic gap between these two areas, has been a national-level problem. It is especially the case in South Khorassan Province, located in the eastern part of the country and newly established in 2004 by the administrative division of former Khorassan Province into three parts. In this Province, the rural area has been exhausted, because of stagnating agriculture due to long-lasting drought and decline in traditional home manufacturing such as carpet weaving, while opportunities to earn non-agricultural income are very limited. These factors have led an ongoing outflow of rural population into urban areas, and resulting depopulation and high-aging in the rural area. In rural areas, household economy used to largely rely on low-price commodities subsidized by the government and different types of supports from charity organizations (while, since 2011, direct cash transfer through the government subsidies reform has been an important source of income for rural households). Such situations have been observed not only in South Khorassan Province but across the country. To prevent a further concentration of population in the urban areas and alleviate the burden on the government for taking a variety of measures to reducing poverty, it is essential to increase income of small-scale farmers, who are the great majority of rural residents. Facing such a situation, the Government of Iran requested the Government of Japan to undertake a “study-type technical cooperation for rural development planning,” to assist South Khorassan Province in formulating, towards solving the above-described problems, a development plan to reduce the economic gap between urban and rural areas and contribute to improvement of the poverty among small-scale farmers. In response to this request, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) carried out a detailed study on project preparation in November 2009, broadly agreed with the Government of Iran on the objectives of the cooperation, its contents, and inputs necessary for implementation of the Study, and signed on the Minutes of Meeting (M/M) with Jihad-e-Agriculture Organization (JAO) of South Khorassan Province. In March 2010, JICA concluded the Scope of Work (S/W) with JAO. (2) Objectives of the Study Formulate a Master Plan for sustainable livelihoods improvement of small-scale farmers in the targeted area after the verification in pilot projects with farmers’ participation; and Carry out capacity development of counterpart personnel and relevant organizations, through formulation of the Master Plan and implementation of the pilot projects. (3) Study Area The Study covered about 15,026 ha of Alghourat-Takhchar Abad area (Markooh watershed basin) of Birjand Township in South Khorassan Province. (4) Schedule of the Study The Study was composed of a baseline survey and two phases and implemented for about 34 months, commencing from June 2010 and ending in March 2013: Baseline Survey: June 2010 to September 2010 Phase I: October 2010 to December 2010 (Conceptualizing a draft Master Plan) Phase II: June 2011 to March 2013 (Implementing pilot projects and finalizing the Master Plan) (1) Project for Study on Small Farming and Rural Development Plan for Poverty Reduction in South Khorassan in the Islamic Republic of Iran Final Report (5) Counterpart Organizations Ministry of Jihad-e-Agriculture (hereinafter referred to as “MOJA”) and JAO of South Khorassan Province were the counterpart agencies (hereafter C/P) to the Study Team. 2. Outline of Agriculture and Policy of Iran (1) Outline of Agriculture Agriculture is a key sector in the economy of Iran. In 2007, it accounted for 13.9% of the GDP. The share of agriculture in total employment was 22% in 2005. According to the Iran’s Central Bank, this sector shared 20% of Iran’s non-oil export in 2004. The major export items were pistachio (US$ 823 million), raisins (US$ 108 million), and saffron (US$ 97 million) in 2005. The country covers a total area of about 165 million km2 (about 4.4 times bigger than Japan). In 2007, about 13 million ha (about 8% of the land area) were cultivated. Of this area, 10 million ha consisted of annual crops and 2.6 million ha of perennial crops. By far the most important irrigated crop is wheat (almost 40% of the total irrigated area), followed by fodder (15%), barley (9.4%), rice (9%), and vegetables (7.5%). Wheat is also the most important rainfed crop. In 2007, around 43% of the area under wheat cultivation was irrigated and the 57% was rainfed. Annual rainfall in Iran ranges from less than 50 mm in the desert area to 2,275 mm in Rasht (capital city of Gilan Province) located near to the Caspian Sea. The average annual rainfall of the country is 228 mm and approximately 90% land area of the country is arid or semi-arid. The major constraint, therefore, is the availability of water for agriculture development. (2) Overview of National Agricultural Policy The Five-Year National Economic, Social and Cultural Development Plan is a part of "Vision 2025" and guides the agriculture sector of Iran. Currently, the fifth five-year plan is implemented for the period of 2010-2014. Main goals of agricultural sector in the Fifth Five-Year Development Plan are as follows: Growth of agricultural value added; Increasing productivity of production factors (total, manpower, capital) in economic growth; Increasing the self-sufficiency rate; Increasing crop water productivity per cubic meter; Increasing the production of agricultural products; Self-sufficiency and sustainable production of staple crops; Improving the living standards of the rural and tribal population; Retention and expansion of job opportunities in agriculture. 3.