Rural Development Strategies

Abstract  Given the source of water inflows to Sistan in Afghanistan, water scarcity is one of the main factors limiting the development of agricultural activities in the region. Recent droughts have led to the drying up of vital arteries, the destruction of productive bases, and the intensification of widespread migration to other parts of Iran. In this regard, the irrigation project of 46,000 hectares of agricultural lands in Sistan in order to transfer current floods from Afghanistan to natural pits known as wells and wells and the possibility of proper use of these floods for agricultural development and regional sustainability Was approved and implemented. Therefore, in this study, an attempt has been made to investigate the effect of the 46,000-hectare Sistan plain irrigation project on the economic sustainability of the villages. The statistical population of the study was the residents of 40 villages of Hamoon city. Using the Cochran's formula, out of 19,133 households, 346 people were interviewed. Swara, Mabak, GIS software and Wilcoxon tests in SPSS software for statistical analysis were used to analyze the data. According to the research results, the most effective implementation of the 46,000-hectare irrigation project is related to value-added components and water management. Comparison of changes in the level of economic stability of villages based on the Mobak model shows that with the implementation of the plan of economic stability level, 20% of villages have decreased, 45% of villages have not changed and in 35% of villages their stability has increased compared to before. Spatial distribution of villages in terms of the level of economic stability shows that the southern and eastern parts of the study area before the project were faced with severe water restrictions (due to the distance from the wells) and with the implementation of the plan and optimal access to agricultural water. Through the irrigation network, there have been positive changes in the economic activities of these villages.

Abstract The critical situation of water resources in arid and semi-arid regions of Iran, especially the Sistan region, has faced a serious problem in the process of sustainable development in this region. Insufficient attention to the optimal management of agricultural water resources and the continuation of some current incorrect methods is one of the main factors in the failure to achieve sustainable agricultural and rural development. In this research, with the optimal management of the Hirmand River in the agricultural sector, an attempt has been made to develop the agricultural and rural sectors of the Sistan region. For this purpose, game theory has been used to allocate water between agricultural lands in rural areas of Sistan in 2020-2021. The meta-heuristic algorithm was used to run the game, combining a dynamic genetic algorithm and fuzzy programming method. The results showed that the use of the proposed model could lead to an efficient and fair distribution of water between irrigated areas and different crops so that maximum profit is obtained from this allocation and by increasing irrigation efficiency from 35 to 50 and 70% of the total profit will increase from 314810 to 544390 and 896050 million Rials. According to the results of this study, it is suggested that high-yield crops such as onions and melons be replaced with low-yield crops such as wheat and barley. Also, due to the water crisis in the Sistan region, the results of Stackelberg game modeling in this study can be used for optimal water allocation in the Sistan region.

Abstract In the current period, the creative village approach as a new perspective on rural development seeks to provide a quality and creative living environment in rural areas. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to extract the characteristics of creative villages in rural settlements of Sistan region and to identify key effective drivers for expanding the fields of rural creativity. For this purpose, the cross-section analysis method was used. The required information was extracted in the form of Delphi questionnaire using the opinion of experts and the key drivers affecting the creativity of villagers were identified. The study sample includes 26 experts in Sistan region who were purposefully selected. The results show that a total of 69 indicators affect tourism in Sistan, of which 18 indicators were selected as key drivers. Out of 18 drivers, 6 had the most impact and the least impact, including "Trust in educated people in decision-making and management", "Welcoming and accepting creativity by local villagers in the area", "Support of villagers and local officials from projects" "Entrepreneurship presented in the rural environment", "entry of villagers into new and innovative activities", "the ability of local managers to lead the village in the development of creative village" and "development of creative ideas to improve public participation". So creative village approach as a useful approach to removing barriers to development in rural settlements is suggested.

Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate the amount of economic, social, psychological, and family empowerment of rural women who are member in the microfinance credits in Sistan area in 2017. The main research tool was a researcher-made questionnaire which its validity was confirmed. The statistical population of the study included 318 rural women who were members of Sistan microfinance credits. According to Morgan table, 170 subjects were selected through random cluster sampling. The results of data analysis indicated that the lowest power of the subjects was in the family dimension and their maximum power was psychological. In addition to, the economic, social, psychological, family, and the general empowerment of subjects in the role of the head of household were significantly more than those who were not head of household. Besides, there were a positive and significant correlation between variables economic, psychological and total empowerment of subjects and numbers of loan received by them. Moreover, the variables of times of receiving loan and income rate explained 31.2% of the changes in the total empowerment of the subjects. Encouragment of rural women to gain loan in order to improvement of business is one of the suggestions of the study.