Rural Development Schemes

During the past four years, 33,760 small-scale rural development programs were completed across the country, said Saeed Reza Jandaqian, deputy of rural affairs at the Municipal and Rural Management Organization (MRMO) affiliated to the Interior Ministry, on Monday.

“During the period, $1.8 billion was allocated to the organization by the government for completion of rural projects,” IRNA quoted him as saying.

Pointing to the programs undertaken, he said 751 fire stations were established in rural areas and 16,100 construction and agricultural machineries were disbursed. Besides, 1,109 small-scale employment-generation schemes (cottage industries) were launched. There are more than 64,000 villages in the country, of which almost half are deserted due to various reasons including deteriorating economic conditions, unemployment and consecutive years of drought.