The Minister of Science, Research and Technology, Hossein Simai-Sarraf, stated that the planned opening of seven technology transfer centers will help accelerate the development of rural areas.
The Ministry of Science, in collaboration with the Vice President's Office for Rural Development, signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday, as reported by the ISNA agency. This initiative aims to strengthen human resources and implement technologies in rural areas.
Since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, the country has made significant progress in developing physical infrastructure in rural areas. Simai-Sarraf emphasized that villages with more than 20 households have access to services such as electricity, clean water, gas, telephone, and the internet at a rate of 99 percent.
According to the minister, technology transfer to villages will not only have a social and economic impact but also create a foundation for sustainable employment, prevent migration from rural to urban areas, and potentially reverse this trend.
The Ministry of Science is committed to utilizing all its capabilities to support this program. Currently, there are about 60 science and technology parks, 16,000 innovation centers, and 2,000 other facilities involved in rural development across the country. These enterprises operate in various fields, including energy, water resources, modern agriculture, processing industry, and crafts, which can play a significant role in rural development, an official representative added.
In 2025, Zahra Behrouz-Azar, the Vice President for Women and Family Affairs, stated that empowering rural communities is a necessary condition for the country's economic and cultural growth. She explained the difference between the concept of 'village' and 'local community.' According to her, economic activity in rural areas includes agriculture, animal husbandry, crafts, and natural resource utilization. However, the concept of local community is broader, encompassing various groups of people not only in rural areas but also in urban neighborhoods, nomadic zones, and even digital communities that rely on social interaction, traditions, beliefs, and shared human connections.
Behrouz-Azar noted that basic needs in villages are the development of agricultural infrastructure, animal husbandry, healthcare, and education, whereas for local communities, aspects such as cultural preservation, promotion of social ties, and strengthening support networks are more important. Given that only 30 percent of the country's population lives in villages, she warned that desertification of rural areas would lead to the loss of a significant part of cultural heritage, art, language, and way of life.
She called on universities and educational centers to apply their knowledge and modern technologies to solve current problems in rural communities, increase their productivity, and improve the quality of life for farmers, especially women farmers, as they play a key role in supporting rural communities.
World Rural Development Day is observed on July 6th. This year, it was held under the theme of 'Financing the First Mile of Food Systems.' Rural communities are the 'first mile' of these systems—the places where food is grown, livelihoods are supported, and sustainability begins. They are home to nearly 80 percent of the world's poorest population and are on the front lines of food insecurity, climate shocks, and migration pressure. Nevertheless, they possess enormous potential for strengthening food security, creating economic opportunities, and ensuring long-term stability.
Investing in the rural population is investing in the foundations of more resilient societies. When rural areas have the necessary resources, communities are better equipped to withstand shocks, young people have more reasons to build their future at home, and producers can contribute more significantly to local, national, and global markets. Data shows that increasing investment in rural areas equivalent to one percent of the country's gross domestic product can reduce international emigration by almost one percentage point (IFAD, 2026).
Unlocking this potential requires practical and sustainable actions: strengthening value chains, broader access to financing, greater support for cooperatives and small and medium-sized enterprises in rural areas, and improving links between producers and markets. Such investments can help transform vulnerability into opportunity and ensure that rural communities are recognized not only for the challenges they face but also for the vital role they play in shaping a safer and more sustainable future.
Agricultural lands in Shandong province, eastern China, are undergoing a technological revolution that is changing irrigation methods, crop management, and cultivation practices, despite the persistence of traditional agricultural rhythms.
In Hupizhangsi village, a farmers' cooperative, Director Ye Zitao noted that previously irrigation was a serious logistical problem, as several households had to use a single well, and waiting for watering could take three or four days. Now, thanks to the construction of a pipeline network that supplies water from the Yellow River directly to the fields, the system operates without delays or competition for water.
Ninzhen District, located at the end of the Dezhou Yellow River irrigation system, long faced water scarcity and over-exploitation of groundwater. To solve these issues, a major water resource improvement project was launched, which included dredging 114 kilometers of key waterways, constructing or upgrading 14 sluice gates and pumping stations, building 12 reservoirs, and increasing the region's river water reserve by 5 million cubic meters, significantly boosting irrigation capacity.
In addition to securing water, efficient use of it has become critical. Farmer Wang Yuchi from the Shiqi planting cooperative in Ninzhen now uses a smartphone to monitor soil moisture and water consumption data in real time. This has allowed a shift from traditional flood irrigation to drip irrigation and integrated water and fertilizer management, ensuring more precise resource utilization.
In the unmanned farm in Jiaociao commune, Zoupin, a farming complex equipped with an autonomous combine supported by BeiDou and TianTong satellites, as well as remote sensing technologies, automatically harvests wheat. This transition from fighting for water to precision water management reflects a broader transformation in Shandong.
In Uchuan village, Kenli County, Duning, 107 hectares of wheat fields became lush after this land was heavily salinized four years ago, having an average salt concentration of 16 parts per thousand. The transformation was achieved using a locally developed 'closed double subsurface drainage system' technology. The method involves vertically installing plastic barriers to prevent saline water intrusion and laying two underground drainage pipes: the upper layer flushes salt from the soil, while the lower layer blocks the rise of saline groundwater. Experts claim that this solution can prevent re-salinization for 50 years after a single application.
Within one to two years of implementation, the technology reduced soil salinity from 16 to 3 parts per thousand, restored the pH to nearly neutral levels, and corn yield reached 600 kilograms per mu, turning barren land into productive land.
Technology is also changing daily farm management. In Linshu, Linyi, plant protection drones fly low over crops, evenly spraying water and nutrients onto wheat seedlings. Yu Lei, a 45-year-old grain farmer from Diantou commune, noted that previously fertilization and irrigation were based mainly on experience, whereas now he can see temperature, humidity, and crop condition in real time by pressing a button on his phone, making precision management easier and more effective.
This transformation is driven by the district's 'smart agriculture' monitoring system. Since last year, 200 monitoring stations have been installed in Linshu across the district to collect data on soil moisture, temperature, humidity, and other key indicators. This data is uploaded to the 'smart agriculture' big data platform, which provides farmers and support service providers with accurate decision-making tools. Agricultural machinery operator Wang Lei, working with a crop protection drone, emphasized that the mobile platform allows him to control the drone's flight paths, soil data, and crop growth, making precise fertilization and scientific irrigation the standard.
Similar scenes are observed in the unmanned 'smart' farm in Wali village, Anjiazhuan commune, Tai'an, Shandong. Technician Wang Xinwen uses a tablet to control a robotic machine for pesticide spraying. He explained that after setting the route, the machine moves autonomously, and the screen displays soil moisture levels and insect damage on leaves, allowing easy adjustment of the spray angle.
According to Professor Chen Guocun from Shandong Agricultural University, the robot uses centimeter-level navigation based on the BeiDou satellite system, and the digital control platform processes images in real time. The robot achieves 95% targeting accuracy when applying pesticides and reduces chemical use by 40%, covering over 13 hectares per day, which is ten times more efficient than manual labor. Chen added that renting such robots can reduce operational costs by 60% per hectare and labor costs by 40%, with the cost of one unit being about 20,000 yuan, and the goal is to develop affordable and reliable smart equipment for ordinary farmers.
