Iran plans to inaugurate seven technology transfer centers in a bid to revitalize rural economies and reverse decades of urban migration, the science minister said, as authorities look to leverage the country's extensive innovation infrastructure for agricultural development.
The initiative was formalized on Monday, July 13, through a memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology and the vice-presidency's office for rural development, the ministry's news service ISNA reported.
Speaking at the signing, Minister Hossein Simaei-Sarraf noted that Iran has already achieved near-universal basic infrastructure in larger villages, with 99 percent of settlements of more than 20 households now connected to electricity, safe water, gas, telephone, and internet. The next step, he said, is transferring advanced technical know-how to these areas.
"Technology transfer to villages will not only generate social and economic benefits but also create sustainable employment, curb rural-to-urban migration, and potentially reverse the trend," Simaei-Sarraf said.
The ministry plans to deploy its existing network of some 60 science and technology parks, 16,000 innovation centers, and 2,000 ancillary units to support the effort. These facilities specialize in energy, water management, modern agriculture, food processing, and handicrafts — sectors seen as critical to rural livelihoods.
Vice President for Women and Family Affairs Zahra Behrouz-Azar, who also spoke at the event, warned that rural depopulation — with only 30 percent of Iran's population now living in villages — risks eroding the country's cultural heritage, dialects, and traditional lifestyles. She urged academic institutions to apply modern technologies to boost productivity and improve living conditions, with particular attention to women farmers, who she described as key agents in community empowerment.
The push comes as global development bodies underscore the strategic importance of rural investment. Marking World Rural Development Day on July 6 under the theme "Financing the First Mile of Food Systems," the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) noted that rural areas are home to nearly 80 percent of the world's poorest people and bear the brunt of food insecurity and climate shocks.
According to IFAD data cited in the report, increasing rural investment by an amount equivalent to one percent of a country's GDP can reduce international out-migration by nearly one percentage point. Officials in Tehran see the new technology hubs as a domestic mechanism to capture similar gains — strengthening local supply chains, improving market access for producers, and offering younger Iranians a reason to build their futures at home.
