Mahdi Rafati

Univeristy of Kassel

2 - Partnerships in the global economy (in the fields of agroecology and financial inclusion).
Secondary / Cross-cutting:1 - Partnerships in development cooperation (from the perspective of inequality, livelihood vulnerability, and social justice)

Prof. Dr. Andreas Thiel, University of Kassel 
Dr. Sören Köpke, University of Kassel

Governing the Saffron Value Chain in Water-Scarce Landscapes: Infrastructural Power, Market Asymmetry, and Water Bankruptcy in Iran.

This doctoral research explores the institutional and political-economic dynamics of the global saffron value chain. Saffron represents a high-value botanical critical to the livelihoods of rural communities in arid regions. However, its production is increasingly threatened by severe ecological crises and systemic water scarcity. The project deeply investigates how macro-institutional constraints, state infrastructural power, and deep-seated market asymmetries shape local resource governance and agricultural sustainability.
Utilizing frameworks of institutional analysis and the political economy of agricultural value chains, this study places a particular focus on the complex interplay between global market pressures, institutional trust among various chain actors, and local adaptations. Furthermore, it examines the emergence of everyday forms of water resistance and social responses among farmers navigating the realities of water bankruptcy in water-scarce regions of Iran. By unpacking these multi-level governance challenges, the research aims to provide critical insights into how polycentric governance and institutional re-configurations can mitigate asymmetries, foster fair value redistribution, and promote resilient eco-social governance within global agro-food systems.

Keywords: Saffron Value Chain, Political Economy, Water Scarcity, Resource Governance, Market Asymmetries, Polycentric Governance, Agricultural Sustainability

2024 – 2025: M.Sc. Agroecology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran
Erasmus+ Exchange, University of Kassel, Germany
Thesis: Heavy Metal Accumulation in Urban Agriculture Products

2019 – 2024: B.Sc. Production and Plant Genetic Engineering, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran

I serve as a PhD candidate and researcher at the Section of International Agricultural Policy and Environmental Governance, University of Kassel. Previously, I worked as a research intern on the PRIMA-funded project BLUMI-Med at the university.

• Secretary of the International Students Club, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran 
• Volunteer Consultant at the Razavi Quality Control Institute (Tayyeb), Iran – Actively promoted food justice and food safety, focusing on ensuring equitable access to healthy, certified food for all social strata (2022 – 2023).
• Member of the Red Crescent Society of Iran & the German Red Cross (Deutsches Rotes Kreuz - DRK)
• Reviewer of contributed papers at the XVII European Association of Agricultural Economists (EAAE) Congress (2023)

Erasmus+ Scholarship (Fully funded, 2 semesters) – Awarded by the European Union for the joint Master’s mobility program at the University of Kassel, Germany