TEHRAN – The development of “rural markets” in different parts of the country is on the agenda in order to directly supply agricultural, horticultural, and livestock products, IRIB reported on Sunday.

Included in the work plan of the Central Organization for Rural Cooperatives of Iran, these markets are usually for direct sales of small quantities of products by farmers to village traders and rural consumers. Rural primary markets often form part of a network arranged on a periodic basis, such as on a specific day of each week.

Rural markets are for direct sales of small quantities of products by farmers to village traders and rural consumers. They are commonly organized at a central place in a village or district center or beside a village’s access road. In some instances, markets in small towns also provide an assembly function.

Rural products will be offered in these stores, which have more suitable conditions for people, both in terms of quality and price, Hooman Liaqati, member of the board of directors of the Central Organization of Rural Cooperatives said.

By launching these rural markets, the cost of products for consumers will be reduced and job creation will be provided for the villagers, he highlighted.

So far, 145 rural markets have been set up, which will increase to 250 by the end of this year (March 2022), he concluded.

Rural development

Currently, 26 percent of the country's population lives in villages, around 39,000 villages have more than 20 households and 23,000 villages have less than 20 households.

Thus, more than 97 percent of the country's rural population lives in villages with over 20,000 households.

In Iran, where villages account for generating 20-23 percent of the value-added in the country, the development of rural areas has been always a top agenda of the governments’ activities.

Many efforts have been made over the past couple of years by the government to support villagers and slow down the trend of migration from rural areas to cities.

Rural tourism, agritourism, religious tourism, and ecotourism are alternatives or complementary economic activities that could further stimulate rural development while decreasing rural community dependency on one main economic sector (agriculture, forestry, energy, or mining).

Mohammad Omid, the vice president for rural development, said in November 2020 that for the first time in the country, the migration of people from rural areas to cities has reached zero.

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