International Journal of Agricultural Management and Development: 2 (2)

Open Access Article

1 - Factors Affecting the Development and Strengthening of Rural Women Enterprises in Iran
رضا موحدی مسعود سامیان احمد یعقوبی فرانی خلیل میرزایی

Given the importance of women's participation and taking advantage of their ability, it is essential that a systematic and strategic plan should be organized in this area. Undoubtedly, planning for the development of the specific associations of rural women can be an ef More

Given the importance of women's participation and taking advantage of their ability, it is essential that a systematic and strategic plan should be organized in this area. Undoubtedly, planning for the development of the specific associations of rural women can be an effective step to increase their participation in various scenes, and it can also help improve the status and rights of women. The main objective of this study was to explore factors affecting the development and strengthening of rural women’s enterprises. A mixed method was used in this study. Data gathering tools were both semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. Target samples were both 25 rural development experts and 92 rural women in the Hamadan County. The results showed that the following items are essential for the development and strengthening rural women’s enterprises: applying legal and financial support; family support; management support, and education and cultural support. In addition, the following strategies are required: culture building; women's empowerment programs, continued implementation of consulting and training programs, and encouraging the introduction of the women's enterprises. The results of factor analysis showed that economic, sociocultural, and education and extension factors can determine approximately 60 percent of factors affecting the development and strengthening of rural women’s enterprises. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

2 - Identification of Strategies for Sustainable Development of Rice Production in Guilan Province Using SWOT Analysis
محسن شفیعیان اصطهباناتی مهدی همایونفر مهدی فدایی

Sustainable development is one of the most important issues that can be considered from different aspects and in different contexts including sustainable agriculture. This study aimed to investigate the main strategies related to sustainable development of rice producti More

Sustainable development is one of the most important issues that can be considered from different aspects and in different contexts including sustainable agriculture. This study aimed to investigate the main strategies related to sustainable development of rice production as an important agricultural product in Guilan Province using a SWOT analysis. To this end, different internal (strengths and weaknesses) and external (opportunities and threats) factors affecting rice production development were reviewed in the literature. Next, a questionnaire was designed based on the potential opportunities, threats, strengths and weaknesses in the literature and the initial interview of the experts; then, the experts were asked to determine the importance of factors on a five-point Likert type scale. The results showed that the rice production received the total scores of 2.14 and 2.24 for the External Factor Evaluation (EFE) matrix and the Internal Factor Evaluation (IFE) matrix, respectively, indicating the ineffectiveness of the industry’s strategies. These scores mapped the position of rice production in Guilan Province. Finally, a number of strategies for sustainable development of rice crop were outlined in order to reduce the weaknesses, avoid the threats, improve the strengths, and grasp the opportunities for the rice production of Guilan Province. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

3 - Global GAP Standard Compliance and Profitability: A Case Study of Smallholder Pineapple Farmers in Akuapem South of Ghana
Prince Annor

The present study examined the perception of smallholder pineapple farmers on Global GAP standard compliance, assessed compliant farmers’ rate of adherence to standard requirements, and compared the average farm profit of Global GAP compliant and non-compliant pin More

The present study examined the perception of smallholder pineapple farmers on Global GAP standard compliance, assessed compliant farmers’ rate of adherence to standard requirements, and compared the average farm profit of Global GAP compliant and non-compliant pineapple farmers in Akuapem South Municipal Area of Ghana. The study used mainly farm level data solicited from 150 randomly selected pineapple farmers. Findings of the study indicated that compliant farmers perceived Global GAP to offer market premium on certified products as it is the case for organic certification. Factors that accounted for farmer non-compliance with Global GAP included: high cost of standard compliance, uncompetitive farm gate price and low farm yield. Although average farm profit of Global GAP compliant farmer (GH¢9,083.64) was higher than that of non-compliant farmer (GH¢8,893.62), the difference was insignificant. The study recommended, among others, that a concerted attempt should be made by the Government of Ghana and the private sector to create a national commodity exchange institution that will seek to provide a transparent and efficient marketing system for Ghana’s key agricultural commodities. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

4 - Organic Agriculture: Food for Future Green Consumers in Iran
یلدا رحمتی غفرانی محمد طالقانی ابراهیم چیرانی

The aim of this paper was investigating the effects of organicknowledge, perceived consequences, subjective norms,price, and green trust, perceived consumer effectiveness, availability,relative advantage, and organic purchase intention onorganic purchase behavior among More

The aim of this paper was investigating the effects of organicknowledge, perceived consequences, subjective norms,price, and green trust, perceived consumer effectiveness, availability,relative advantage, and organic purchase intention onorganic purchase behavior among Iranian consumers as theconsumers in a developing country.The survey questionnairewas administered to the customers of large chain stores andorganic food stores in five provinces of Iran that had branchesfor producing and selling organic food products. Given thevery few number of organic food consumers in Iran, only 192out of 240 questionnaires were filled and then used as samplesof study. In order to analysis the data and test the hypotheses,multiple regression analysis method was used using by SPSSsoftware. Results showed strong support (R2=0.51) for theimpact of price, consumer effectiveness, and perceived consequenceson intention to purchase organic food products. Organicknowledge, green trust, price, consumer effectiveness, andintention were found to have influenced purchase behavior.This paper will discuss the implications of these results foragricultural practitioners and marketers. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

5 - Development and Validation of Sustainable Aquaculture Indicators: Case of Alborz Dam Basin, Mazandaran, Iran
احسان قلی فر عنایت عباسی غلامرضا پزشکی راد حسن صالحی عبدالمطلب رضایی

The present study was conducted to examine the development and validation of sustainable indicators related to aquaculture as a social-ecological system. By reviewing the literature, it was found about 148 indicators related to sustainable aquaculture in economic (marke More

The present study was conducted to examine the development and validation of sustainable indicators related to aquaculture as a social-ecological system. By reviewing the literature, it was found about 148 indicators related to sustainable aquaculture in economic (market-oriented and responsive aquaculture, capability of risk assessment and crisis management, and financial management in aquaculture), social (participation in food security and healthy food, the role of producer and non-governmental organizations, improving the image of aquaculture, and social responsibility), environment (minimizing the impacts of aquaculture at the national level, minimizing the impacts on the environmental conditions, and biodiversity), and institutional (local development and participation in decision-making) components. The extracted components were used in the form of a questionnaire with a five-point Likert type scale according to six criteria. Questionnaires were distributed among aquaculture experts in Alborz Dam Basin in Mazandaran Province, where 32 questionnaires were returned. Research results include ranking indicators based on a total of six criteria mentioned in methodology, and ranking components, as well as their associated indicators related to sustainable aquaculture using AHP. The findings further suggested that economic and environmental aspects also were placed as the first and second ranks among 10 sustainable aquaculture indicators. Accordingly, it is highly recommended that the agencies related to the country's aquaculture development paid attention to these identified dimensions and used them in their planning. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

6 - Advantages and Disadvantages of Participatory Plant Breeding (PPB) in Iran: A Study Based on Breeders' Perceptions
امیر نعیمی مصطفی کرباسیون فاطمه عباسی

The purpose of this study was to investigate the advantages and disadvantages of Participatory Plant Breeding (PPB). Seventy-six breeders were randomly selected from among 95 breeders who were working at the Seed and Plant Improvement Institute, Karaj, Iran. Data were c More

The purpose of this study was to investigate the advantages and disadvantages of Participatory Plant Breeding (PPB). Seventy-six breeders were randomly selected from among 95 breeders who were working at the Seed and Plant Improvement Institute, Karaj, Iran. Data were collected by a questionnaire as the main data collection instrument. The face and content validity of the questionnaire was approved by a panel of agricultural extension and plant breeding experts. The reliability of the questionnaire was calculated and it turned out to be high, ranging from 0.83-0.92. The descriptive findings of the study suggested that the breeders had generally positive perception toward using PPB. The correlation analysis results showed that there is a positive and significant (p>0.01) correlation among the levels of familiarity with PPB, advantages, and breeders’ perception toward the use of PPB. In addition, there was a negative and significant (p>0.01) correlation between breeders' perception of the disadvantages faced by PPB and their perception of using participatory plant breeding. Finally, stepwise regression analysis indicated that the advantages and disadvantages of PPB explained about 58% of the variations in breeders’ perception toward using PPB. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

7 - Promoting Entrepreneurial Behavior among Agricultural Students: A Two-Step Approach to Structural Equation Modeling
نعمت اله شیری علی اصغر میرک زاده کیومرث زرافشانی

Increasing rate of unemployment among the graduates ofIranian higher agricultural education system has beendeveloped into one of the major socio-economic problems ofthe nation. Entrepreneurship is one of the most importantfactors contributing to economic and social deve More

Increasing rate of unemployment among the graduates ofIranian higher agricultural education system has beendeveloped into one of the major socio-economic problems ofthe nation. Entrepreneurship is one of the most importantfactors contributing to economic and social development, thatis, it is a main driver for employment creation. As such, manypolicy initiatives in Iran attempt to pull agricultural studentstoward an entrepreneurial career choice. In this regard,considering the importance of entrepreneurship, and applyingAjzen’s (1991) theory of planned behavior, the present studywas conducted to investigate the factors affecting entrepreneurialbehavior of agricultural students in Razi University. The populationof this study consisted of all senior agricultural studentsof Razi University in Iran (N=300), 169 of whom were selectedas the sample using the proportional stratified sampling method.Data were analyzed by SPSS and AMOS version23 softwarein two phases of descriptive and inferential statistics. Resultsof structural equation modeling revealed that personal attitudetoward entrepreneurship, perceived behavioral control, andsubjective norm were the main predictors of entrepreneurialintention (R2=0.46) and behavior (R2=0.45) among agriculturalstudents. The findings of this study can have practical implicationsconcerning the promotion of entrepreneurial intention and behavioramong agricultural students for higher agricultural educationmanagers, planners, and educators. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

8 - The Effects of Educational, Extension, and Research Factors on the Development of Medicinal Plants in Markazi Province of Iran
سید داود حاجی میررحیمی

The main objective of this study was identifying the effects of educational, extension and research factors on the development of medicinal plants in Markazi Province of Iran. The statistical population included all managers, extension agents and experts involved in med More

The main objective of this study was identifying the effects of educational, extension and research factors on the development of medicinal plants in Markazi Province of Iran. The statistical population included all managers, extension agents and experts involved in medicinal plants in Markazi Province in 2014 (N = 50), who were selected by the census sampling method (n=50). The research instrument was a questionnaire whose face and content validity were confirmed by a panel of experts and specialists of medicinal plants and also its reliability was estimated by Cronbach's alpha to be 0.78. Results showed that some factors such as informing and training the people about medicinal plants via television and training the physicians about medicinal plants benefits prove more effective in the development of this industry. On the other hand, from among five main factors which explained the variance of medicinal plants development factors, the following three factors have priority: training and extension of medicinal plants (Var. =16.54), educational standards of medicinal plants (Var. =13.18), and technical and vocational education (Var. =11.48). Also, the variables of education level, job experience in agriculture section, current attitude towards development of prescribing medicinal plants by physicians, current amount of using medicinal plants capacity in the province, and assessment of current attitudes toward medicinal plants production, have caused more significant difference in the view of statistical sample about the effect of some educational, extension and research factors on the medicinal plants industry development. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

9 - Impact of Energy Subsidies Elimination on Technology Gap Ratio in Cucumber Production
رضا اسفنجاری کناری زهره کرمی سیده صدیقه احمدزاده

This paper presents an analysis of technical efficiency andtechnology gap ratio (TGR) in greenhouse cucumber inFars Province, Iran. Cucumber production was chosen for thisstudy for the reason that greenhouse productions in this provincemainly have focused on this produc More

This paper presents an analysis of technical efficiency andtechnology gap ratio (TGR) in greenhouse cucumber inFars Province, Iran. Cucumber production was chosen for thisstudy for the reason that greenhouse productions in this provincemainly have focused on this product. The data used in thisstudy was obtained from a random sample of 127 greenhouses in Fars Province for 2010 to 2011. Metafrontier productionfunction model for firms was used within the parametric frameworkof stochastic frontier analysis (SFA). The frontier modelsare applied in the analysis of cross-sectional data by assuminga translog functional form. Results indicate that eliminatingenergy input subsidies has led to significant decrease in greenhousecucumber production efficiency so that the mean technicalefficiency declined from 98% to 67 % during 2010-2011. Furthermore,subsidies elimination has also led to decrease of themean technology gap ratio in greenhouses from 0.92 to 0.87,in other words, it has caused more distance from efficient productionfrontier. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

10 - The Effect of Raising Electricity Price on Welfare of the Household Sector in Rural Areas of Guilan Province, Iran
حسین صالحی Esfandiar Doshman Ziari Mohammad Sadegh Ziaei

Present study investigates the effect of soaring residential electricity price on the welfare of rural individuals in Guilan Province by Almost Ideal Demand System (AIDS) in which the elasticity’s and welfare variations were calculated by Compensation Variations ( More

Present study investigates the effect of soaring residential electricity price on the welfare of rural individuals in Guilan Province by Almost Ideal Demand System (AIDS) in which the elasticity’s and welfare variations were calculated by Compensation Variations (CV) and Equivalent Variations (EV) for the time period of 1991-2012. It was shown that the absolute value of income and price elasticity of electricity was less than one unit. Low price elasticity of the demand shows the slight impact of price variations on the demand for electricity in the studied period, on the one hand, and the lack of an appropriate substitute for electricity in residential sector, on the other hand. The calculation of welfare variations and its comparison with the share of electricity in the paid subsidy shows that with 50% and 100% increase in residential electricity price, the cash paid to the households is less that the amount acquired. Accordingly, it can be argued that the direct effect of residential electricity price modification (increase) has not been compensated. In fact, the welfare loss of the households, due to more expensive electricity, is more than the acquired welfare. Yet, in a gradual increase scenario, the calculated CV is less than the payments to the families, and hence it is the only price policy that does not impose a loss on families and improves their welfare. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

11 - An Empirical Analysis of Vertical Integration Determinants among Peasant Farmers in Northern Algeria
Mohamed Benmehaia Fatima Brabez

This study aims to analyze the determinants of vertical integration (ownership and contract-ing) among peasant farmers in Northern Algeria. The choice of asset control is between ownership and a simple contracting. Thus, the integration of vertical stages of agricultura More

This study aims to analyze the determinants of vertical integration (ownership and contract-ing) among peasant farmers in Northern Algeria. The choice of asset control is between ownership and a simple contracting. Thus, the integration of vertical stages of agricultural produc-tion leads to higher gross margins, influences the choice of marketing and supply channels, and improves market participation of farmers. Three different regression models were used to determine the likelihood of a peasant household to integrate vertically (and horizontally) in its enterprise. Data were collected from 635 smallholder farmers in Northern Algeria. Farm structure, farm size, farmers' age, farmers’ level of education, seasonality, and geographical location were assumed to be the key factors in accounting for a household’s likelihood to ver-tically integrate in its farming enterprise. These key factors affect the household’s likelihood of horizontal integration. The study, then, carries the implication that policy-makers should develop increased awareness of farm structure, its scale, seasonal and spatial nature of agricultural production, as well as of some farmers’ social characteristics in order to be able to improve the agricultural productivity. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

12 - Factors Affecting Land Allocation to Saffron and its Expansion in Marand County, Iran
کلثوم عزیزی میزاب Azadeh Falsafian

Currently, water, as the most limiting factor in production, determines the priority of planting in different areas of Iran. Saffron is one of the good candidates for drought conditions since it has high economic value and low water requirements that can help with susta More

Currently, water, as the most limiting factor in production, determines the priority of planting in different areas of Iran. Saffron is one of the good candidates for drought conditions since it has high economic value and low water requirements that can help with sustainable development. By identifying the factors influencing the decision on saffron cultivation and its expansion, appropriate policies can be implemented to improve the planting of this crop. Marand, located in East Azarbaijan Province, Iran, is one of the areas where farmers have started to grow saffron in recent years. The allocation of 68 hectares of agricultural land to this crop has turned the county into the hub of saffron production in the northwest of the country. This study investigated the factors affecting the decision on saffron cultivation and its development in Marand. To this end, a total of 140 farmers from two groups of saffron growers and non-saffron growers were chosen, and the Heckman’s two-step procedure was then employed. The results of estimating the first step of the Heckman procedure showed that age, familiarity with saffron growing, attending saffron training courses, the number of extension courses, marketing status, and profit status of saffron all had a positive effect on the decision on growing saffron. Moreover, the results of estimating the linear pattern of the second phase corroborated the view that the farmer’s education level, the total area under agricultural and horticultural cultivation, as well as features of agricultural land had a positive impact, and access to water resources had a negative effect on the cultivation area of saffron. Manuscript profile

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