Rural Tele-centers in Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development in Iran: Situations and Problems (Case Study: South Khorasan Province - East of Iran)

The majority of rural population in Iran has limited access to agricultural information. However, bridging the digital gap between urban and rural areas has been a major challenge for authorities in Iran. Using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for poverty reduction and for the economic empowerment of poor women and men in rural areas have been experienced world wide. Tele-centers are properly tools and public facility that available for villagers and can provide rural people with information related to their business, reduce the costs of money transfers, and put microfinance within the reach of poor men and women. The purpose of this article is to introducing the rural ICT activities in south khorasan province-Iran and specially reviewing the results of socio-economic impacts of them in sustainable rural development in order to find how Iranians use these facilities for poverty reduction and economic improvement in rural areas.