Introduction: Despite the significant potential in the agricultural sector, particularly in tropical crop production in Sistan region of Iran, spatial policies and the distribution of government activities and services in agriculture and natural resources have not been aligned with comparative advantages and climatic conditions, especially for essential products. This deficiency has led to the neglect of the actual potential of rural areas in this region for production, preventing adequate growth in their agricultural sector. Furthermore, the development of complementary services and infrastructure for agricultural development in these rural areas has not been proportional to their agricultural production potential. As a result, the rural areas with high potential comparative advantages have been marginalized and excluded from agricultural development management decision-making. Agricultural development plays a key role in various aspects such as achieving economic and political independence, self-sufficiency in strategic products, creating employment for the growing population, supplying raw materials for industry, regional balance and equilibrium, rural development, regulating urban-rural relations, limiting uncontrolled migration to cities, and ensuring food security for national development. Therefore, identifying and analyzing the current agricultural situation is one of the most important issues in regional planning for the Sistan region. Achieving this goal requires a thorough analysis of the status of the Sistan rural areas. It should also be noted that since one of the objectives of the rural planning is to achieve economic and social development at the rural level, with agricultural development always being a priority, assessing the agricultural development along with identifying causal, contextual, and intervening factors contributing to spatial inequality is a crucial step for planners to achieve the development goals. Accordingly, this research aimed to investigate and respond to the following questions:

What combination of causal, contextual, and intervening factors has contributed to spatial inequality in agricultural development?
How can agricultural planning be improved to leverage the region’s comparative advantages?
What policy measures are needed to integrate marginalized rural areas into agricultural development decision-making?

Materials and Methods: This was an applied study in terms of purpose while it could be considered as descriptive-analytical exploratory research in terms of nature and methodology. The research data was collected through documented-desk studies (literature review) as well as questionnaires and interviews. The required information and data were organized in two phases: quantitative and qualitative. For data analysis in the quantitative phase, SPSS software was used, while in the qualitative phase, grounded theory and Delphi method were employed. It is worth noting that the statistical population of the study was different for the two quantitative and qualitative stages. In the quantitative stage, the statistical population included all rural households in the Sistan region, which according to the information of the Statistical Center of Iran (SCI) in 2016, numbered 60,075 households in 796 rural locations. The sample size was determined using Cochran formula and at a confidence level of 95 percent, equal to 321 households, which were randomly selected to respond the questionnaire. In the qualitative stage, the statistical population of study included specialists in the fields of geography and rural planning, agriculture, and land use planning, of which 30 individuals were selected using purposive sampling.
Results and Discussion: The study findings indicated that the agricultural development in the rural areas of Sistan region was in an unfavorable state. Based on the qualitative research findings, the causal factors of spatial inequality in the agricultural development in rural areas of the region included climate change, the undefined position of spatial justice in the administrative and executive system, centralized and sectoral approaches, and a one-dimensional perspective on development. Also, lack of attention to the physical-environmental capabilities available in the rural areas of Sistan region, unbalanced distribution of infrastructure and agricultural services in regional policies, unfavorable rural governance, lack of public participation in the agricultural development process, and lack of mechanisms to deal with drought were identified as underlying factors of the spatial inequality. In addition, based on the results of the study, the intervening factors affecting the spatial inequalities of agricultural development in the rural areas of Sistan region included the failure to accelerate the transfer of water to the Sistan region, the politicization of the issue of sharing the water of the Helmand River between Iran and Afghanistan, the adoption of polar policies, inconsistent management among organizations, lack of effective support from the banking system for the rural agricultural sector of Sistan, and the inefficiency of upstream documents were foung to be the main factors in the field of balanced development and elimination of deprivation.
Conclusion and Suggestions: To prevent the wasting of the capacities and capabilities of the Sistan rural areas, to make optimal use of them, and to eliminate agricultural imbalances, the need for the presence of a land use planning program in the planning of the agricultural sector in the Sistan region is evident. This approach in the discussions related to agricultural development is one of the basic areas of applied geography, which often organizes and establishes a balance in agricultural indicators in the region with demand and authority. Therefore, it is necessary to look into the future of Sistan agricultural space by understanding the current situation in the agricultural development.