Research and Education Center for Agriculture and Natural Resources of Yazd Province

Yazd Agriculture and Natural Resources Research and Education Center is the result of the integration of different collections that have been formed over the years. The primary core of this complex can be considered as the Agricultural Research Center, which was established in 1361 and operated with a research department in the field of soil and water research until 1365. In 1365, Yazd Department of Soil Science was established by the Institute of Soil Science, and after that, with the follow-up of the provincial officials, this department also established the department of research on improvement and preparation of seedlings and seeds, and the department of research on pests and plant diseases, and these three departments in the form of the Agricultural Research Center He started his research. Pursuing the production of new varieties of wheat and barley in dry and salty conditions and building the collection of heirloom pomegranates of the country with 762 varieties have been among the important achievements of this center.The second set is Yazd Province Natural Resources and Livestock Affairs Research Center. After the separation of duties between the Ministries of Jihad and Agriculture, the affairs related to livestock and natural resources were assigned to the Ministry of Jihad and Construction. In this regard, the Deputy of Education and Research of the Ministry of Jihad and Construction started to establish research centers for natural resources and livestock affairs in the provinces. Yazd Province Natural Resources and Livestock Affairs Research Center started working on 3/1/70 with the appointment of the person in charge of the establishment and due to the limited facilities, credits and manpower, and based on the priorities of the province, it prepared and implemented research projects in the fields of Natural resources and livestock affairs. Among the activities of this center were the establishment of Shahid Sadoqi desertification research stations, Bafaq camel research, Herat watershed research, Miankoh watershed research, Bafaq watershed research and pasture research.Also, creating a collection of desert and desert plants, medicinal plants, and forming a research herd with camel pedigree have been other activities of this center.

After the merger of the Ministries of Jihad Construction and Agriculture, the Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Center of Yazd Province was formed in the middle of 2013, which was the result of the merger of the "Agricultural Research Center" and the "Natural Resources and Livestock Affairs Research Center". The research activities of this center were concentrated in 8 departments, 10 stations, 7 laboratories and an agricultural economy research unit. In this center, a total of more than 1080 projects or research plans have been published in various fields of implementation and their results at the province and country level. A summary of the achievements and activities of this center can be mentioned as follows.Producing new cultivars and introducing them to farmers, introducing cultivation patterns and new farming methods (for example, the first greenhouse for cucumber production in the province was built in the research center), presenting new methods of combating pests and diseases, new methods of combating desertification, introducing potential and the management methods of desert and wooded pastures, land evaluation and water and soil monitoring, fertilizer recommendations for important products, providing new solutions to increase the quantity and quality of livestock products and introducing red meat substitute products as a non-active defense, providing methods for identifying disease agents and the treatment of special animals such as camels and economic and social issues in each of the sub-sectors of agriculture and rural development.

Another complex is the Agricultural Jihad Training Center of Yazd Province (Molasadra).This center started its activity since 1365 in the field of training employees and improving the pyramid of manpower of the construction jihad organization of Yazd province. Since 1375, this center has started accepting students in scientific-applied associate degrees and since 1380 in undergraduate degrees. In addition to holding scientific-applied courses and in-service training, other activities of this center include user training and work, knowledge, technical and professional training.



Finally, this center was established by the merger of "Yazd Province Agriculture and Natural Resources Research Center" and "Yazd Agricultural Jihad Training Center" in October 2013 with the aim of greater coordination between research and education and the agility of formations and better scientific and educational services. The activities of this center are carried out in two research and educational complexes and a number of stations, bases and laboratories.Currently, this center with 14 members of academic staff and 51 personnel performs its activities under the supervision of the Research, Education and Promotion Organization of the Ministry of Jihad and Agriculture.



The research activities of this center are carried out in the following departments and research units.

•Soil Protection and Watershed Research Department
• Agricultural and horticultural science research department
Soil and water research department
Animal science research department
• Plant medicine research department
Forest and pasture research department
•Venhal Seed Registration and Certification Unit
The educational activities of this center include 2 main parts.

·  User training

· Staff training·

In addition to the two main complexes, the activity base of the center includes the following stations, bases, farms and laboratories.Research stations and bases



Bafaq camel research station
Yazd Central Research Station (agricultural and horticultural)
• Desertification Research Station of Shahid Sadoughi Ashkazar
Ardakan pistachio research station
• Daneshvar research-educational farm
Miankoh Research Base (Mehriz)

This center currently has soil and water laboratories, nematology, plant pathology, entomology, weeds, seed control and certification, livestock and veterinary medicine, and a seed laboratory and plant herbarium