Iranian Journal of Agricultural Economics and Development Research
Year:2018 | Volume:49 | Issue:3 |Papers Count:11

Production in agricultural sector is always facing with some fluctuations. Since this sector provides inputs for most of the economic sectors, fluctuations in production of agricultural sector are transferred to the related sectors and, results in fluctuation in these sectors. Given that food and beverage industries are the main industries using agricultural products, the purpose of the present study is to investigate the effect of production changes in agricultural subsectors (crops and horticulture, livestock and poultry, fisheries and forestry) on the production of food and beverage industries. To this end, Ghosh supply-driven model based on input-output table is applied as the analytical framework. In addition, to investigate the effect trend of the production change in agricultural sector on the food and beverage products over past three decades, input-output tables of 1986, 1991, 2001 are utilized. Results indicate that changes in production of agricultural subsectors have the highest effect on food and beverage industries relative to the other economic sectors. Moreover, investigation of changes in the linkage between agricultural subsectors and food and beverage industries over studied period shows that linkages of the fisheries sub-sector have increased. For livestock and poultry sub-sector, these linkages remained constant, where the other agricultural sub-sectors have experienced a decrease in linkages with food and beverage industries. These result lead to the conclusion that, to create more values from crops and horticultural products, the expansion of food industries which are more related to these products, has to be considered more seriously.

Insurance of agricultural products is a financial instrument, which aims to minimize the instability caused by the damage caused by various and uncertain factors in the agricultural sector. The high cost of transaction in agricultural insurance reduces the tendency and acceptance of insurance by farmers. Therefore, the aim of this study is to measure the transaction cost and the factors affecting on it and estimate the demand for agricultural insurance in Hamadan province. The data used in this research are cross-sectional data that were collected in 243 questionnaires and 94-93 years from the farmers. In order to estimate the effective factors on the transaction cost, the linear method and the estimation of the factors affecting agricultural insurance were estimated using Logit model and Eviews software. The results of the calculations showed that the high cost of insurance for agricultural insurance was 25% to 30% of the total cost of insurance, which leads to a reduction in the number of individual insured. Also, the level of education, cultivation and damages had a positive and significant effect on the transaction cost. The education elasticity of demand for insurance is 0. 86. The cultivation area and transaction cost have a negative effects on farmers' willingness to insure the product and by increasing in the cultivation area, the demand for insurance is reduced by-0. 34 units.

Poverty and hunger in all of human social life is considered as a fundamental problem. Necessary and adequate nutrition is a key factor of physical and mental health and a source of personal welfare, food security of humans. The Food poverty has become now one of the indicators of sustainable development and urban health. The aim of this study is an analysis of economic factors and the role of it in the food poverty of Zanjan urban households. Method of the study is analytical, for the analysis of economic factors and their role in food poverty, population was selected by Cochran formula and through cluster sampling information has been collected. Information derived from the questionnaires was analyzed by using statistical software and its results by using geographic information system schematically are shown. Results showed a significant relationship between income, housing, employment, households and food poverty. In the present study the most vulnerable are households female-headed Women (285/67 with a mean difference) that have been lacking property. The results revealed a significant relationship between education levels and nutrient-poor urban households there. Finally, it could be in dire need of a comprehensive plan to tackle food poverty in the city of Zanjan there.

Free distribution of irrigation water in many plains of Urimye and low price of water has led to inefficient use and allocation of scarce water resources. Charging an affordable price for irrigation water will help increase water efficiency, reduce water demand, managing irrigation systems and covering distribution costs. As water price reflect the opportunity cost of water, it largely dependents on the farmers’ willingness to pay. In this study, we estimated farmers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for agricultural water by using contingent valuation method (CVM), and we analyzed it with the bootstrap simulation method. We collected the data from 134 farmers in the riverbank of "Siminehrood" in "Boukan plain" by using random sample method. The CVM and bootstrap results show that the average willingness to pay for each cubic meter of water, are 477. 48 and 438. 47 riyals respectively. Ages of farmers, cultivated area, agricultural and auxiliary income are main significant factors of farmers’ willingness to pay. Based on the results, setting appropriate water price policy and participating farmers in making decision-making on water pricing will result a better allocation of irrigation water.

The purpose of this study was to assess the risks associated with wheat production in the bread supply chain of Khuzestan Province, which was carried out in two phases. For this purpose, the exploratory mixed method was used which in the first phase the grounded theory was used for risk identification and in the second phase the cross-sectional survey was used to risk assessment. In the first phase, the population was elites and progressive farmers in wheat production which among them 15 people was selected through a typical case purposeful sampling and revelatory case purposeful sampling method as the sample of the study. Semi-structured interviews and observation were used as the research instrument. In the second phase, the population was wheat producers of the Khuzestan province which among them 150 people was selected through a typical case purposeful sampling as the sample. Data collected using a checklist. The data were assessed based on Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA). Reliability of the recognized risks and validity of checklist were confirmed by a panel of experts. Based on the results of Grounded theory 12 risks categories identified. The results of risk assessment were showed environmental risk, food safety risk, the supply of inputs risk, agricultural activities risk, infrastructure risk, technology risk, access to information and extension education risk, financial risk, delay risk, market risk, research and development risk, human risk. the environmental risk was the very strong risk, food safety risk was a strong risk and market risk, research and development risk, human risk were weakness risks.

Nowadays, in western Iran, especially Hamadan province, conflicts between local communities and wolves has peaked and has become a major concern for local people. In this research, in order to investigate the role of social components, social network analysis was used to portrait a scenario in reducing conflict between local communities and environment. To the end, the aim of this study was to find the most important social events under human decisions in reducing conflict between human and the environment. Decisions that they state can provide a conservation structure for local communities. For this purpose, in areas of Hamadan province that had the most wolf attack points, using Daniel method and based on households throughout the county villages in this province a total of 400 questionnaires about local people's decision related to wolf attacks in the form of events such as help from Department of Environment (HDOE), help from village head, using of livestock-guarding dogs, children's education, television and newspaper as well as aggressive acts such as killing wolves were design and in 2016 social networks and related measures was illustrated for behavior analysis and for extracting a scenario. Our results showed that, among the methods used by local communities, education, livestock-guarding dogs and help by village head respectively, have the highest centrality in conservation network. The consent of local communities after using each of these methods has increased compared to before use. Help by HDOE head has the lowest degree of centrality in this network. With determining the pivotal role of environmental education, we proposed that education to local communities should be placed at the top of management actions by HDOE.

The purpose of the present research is to provide practical solutions in order to create an appropriate understanding of the market, competitors and customers. This research is applied in terms of purpose and in terms of descriptive research method. in this research, At first, theoretical model and hypotheses between variables were expanded and to investiage the hypotheses, structural equetion modeling was used. The statistical population are the managers and sales staff of dairy companies in Mashhad. For this purpose, a sample of 226 people was selected based on Cochran's formula using available sampling method. A questionnaire was used to collect the data, The reliability of the questionnaire was confirmed by Cronbach's alpha, its composite reliability and its validity by using construct validity (convergent) and divergent validity. The reliability of the questionnaire was confirmed by Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability, and its validity was confirmed by using constructive (congruent) and divergent validity. The results of this study showed that competitive strategies affect market orientation and performance. The modifier role of market subtle between relationships of environment perception, market orientation and market performance was confirmed.

Reducing productivity and increasing production costs due to land fragmentation of agricultural and horticultural parcels is one of the main obstacles to achieving sustainable agricultural development. The present study carried out with the aim of investigating the factors affecting the land fragmentation in East Azerbaijan Province. So, identification of the factors could pave the solutions for organizing the current agricultural land status. The statistical population of this research was farmers of the agricultural sector located in East Azarbaijan province (N=212926). The sample size was estimated using Cochran formula and 380 people were selected by stratified sampling method. The research instrument was a questionnaire, that its validity reviewed and corrected using a group of academic researchers and experts in the field of agricultural land fragmentation in the land affairs organization of Iran. Reliability of the questionnaire was calculated by measuring Cronbach's alpha (0. 85). The results of factor analysis showed that the studied variables were grouped into six factors: economic, physical-skeletal, social, regulatory, historical-religious, and agronomic. These six factors explainng 65. 13% of the variance of the determinants factors of agricultural land fragmentation in the study area. The results showed that the economic factor (the traditionality of operating systems, the primacy of facilities and agricultural production methods in rural areas, the low agricultural land productivity, the distance from the source of water, the existence of agricultural laws and policies Inappropriate, lack of suitable cultivating pattern and lack of financial power of farmers to buy or exchange parcels) is the most important factor of agricultural land fragmentation in East Azerbaijan province.

The aim of this study was to design a TOWS strategic model for rural tourism development (Agrotourism, ecotourism) in the Savadkooh and north Savadkooh Counties of Mazandaran Province. This study was a descriptive and analytical survey which through literature review of previous studies and analytical results come from experts and researchers responses in the field of rural tourism, Agrotourism, has prioritized each internal (strengths and weaknesses) and external (opportunities and threats) factors and Provided TOWS strategies. The population of the research was a group of scientific and management experts (=20 experts) with expertise in the field of rural tourism and rural development which selected by purposeful and available sampling technique. The questionnaire was distributed among experts through AHP technique and Saaty's 9-point likert scale. Finally, 16 questionnaires were collected and analyzed. SWOT-AHP technique was used to analyze data and all calculations has been done by Super Decisions software, version 6. 2 and Excel software. The results showed that in the criteria evaluation section, strengths, opportunities, weaknesses and threats were ranked first to fourth priority respectively. In formulating strategies using TOWS model due to uncontrolled external factors, tried to focus more on internal control factors. The most important strategies of TOWS model for the rural tourism development based on the general priorities and overall weight were as: Maxi-Maxi (SO), Mini-Maxi (WO), Maxi-Mini (ST), and Mini-Mini (WT).

The residential displacement is considered as a phenomenon that affects the various dimensions of human life and has multi-dimensional and sometimes complex consequences. Identifying such consequences can play an important role in the planning and conduction of displacement processes. In this regard, the present study was conducted with the main purpose of analysis the perceptions of the Sorkhe Gov’ s people about residential displacement consequences. The research design was guided by a critical ethnographic approach. Participants included all residents of Sorkhe Gav village who had common experiences in residential displacement. Data was gathered by using semi-structured interviews, problem tree, observation and social maps. The participants were completely selected purposeful. The results showed that the urgency of the displacement process in the Sorkhe Gav village led to the neglect of participatory planning processes, and thus some of the physical considerations of housing in adaptation to social and environmental conditions were not considered. The findings revealed that only technical view on the displacement process of Sorkhe Gav village has not only caused undesirable physical and social consequences, but also made some of the positive consequences of displacement, such as housing resistance, as insignificant. In general, evidence suggested that the socio-economic consequences of residential displacement in the Sorkhe Gav village are increasingly attributable to physical consequences. Because the physical structures do not have much adaptation with the social, economic and climatic conditions of the area, and do not include previous experiences of inhabitants.

Given to the importance of employability as an indicator of higher education quality and social capital as a key factor for this system efficiency, examining the relationship of these variables is necessary. Thus, the main purpose of this study was to investigate the role of social capital dimensions in employability of agricultural students of agricultural and natural resources University College, university of Tehran. The statistical population of this research was consisted of all agricultural majors’ senior and junior students of agricultural and natural resources university college, university of Tehran (N=715). The sample size was calculated by Cochran formula (n=190) accessed through proportional stratified random sampling method. Data were collected by a questionnaire including demographic characteristics and two main variables i. e. employability and social capital. In order to investigate the validity, reliability, fitness of latent variables and test of conceptual model, structural equation modeling (SEM) with LISREL8. 80 software was used. Results of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) confirmed the validity and reliability latent variables. Results of structural equation modeling showed that five dimensions of social capital i. e. Social values, Social trust, Social networks, Social cohesiveness, Social participation, Sharing knowledge, Social Communication had positive significant effect on the employability of surveyed students.