Investigating the Role of Saffron Business Clusters in Rural Development (Case Study: South Khorasan Province)

One of the important products in South Khorasan province, Iran, is saffron, which can play a significant role in the lives of farmers, rural development, and agricultural development. The main objective of this study was to investigate the role of saffron business clusters in rural development in South Khorasan province, Iran, during 2019-2020. The study population consisted of managers (n=100), deputies (n=50) and marketers working in workshop on processing of productions (n=150) and saffron sales centers (n=687) in South Khorasan province. A total of 987 people participated in the study. The dependent variable of study was the role of the saffron business clusters in rural development, and also the independent variables included economic and social factors. The results demonstrated that the factors had a positive effect on the level of development in a 0.95% confidence level. Therefore the commercialization of saffron product by creating a strong brand, the design of a coherent network from the rural area to the market, financial support from the government, facilities with low bank loan interest rates for farmers and workshops on saffron, and the creation of rural development policies are recommended.