Strategies for the Development of Agricultural Entrepreneurship in Iran's Rural Areas: A Case Study of Khodabandeh County

Creativity and innovation are the main foundations of sustainable rural development. Among other contributing factors, rural entrepreneurship particularly in agricultural sector can assist rural economic development by identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the sector and by strategic planning. The main question of the study is: what are the appropriate strategies for the development of agricultural entrepreneurship in rural areas under study? To answer this question this study used survey and SWOT methodology and presented a central strategy for the development of agricultural entrepreneurship in rural areas of Khodabandeh County. The results indicated that due to the high potential and capacity of the region the innovation and creativity thresholds in the agricultural sector of rural areas need reconsideration and representation of appropriate policies for the elimination of constraints and use of existing rural and agricultural potentials.