Journal of Agricultural Economics and Development
Year:2000 | Volume:8 | Issue:1 (29)|Papers Count:16

In this paper variability in pistachio price was investigated. The results show that producer prices have been unstable in recent years. The variability in world prices has not been transmitted to producers in the prices they receive.Real exchange rate, domestic marketing arrangements and government interventions have played a major role. Since these factors cannot be easily predicted by producers, business men and exporters, they cannot predict prices well. Their inability of price prediction have caused some disadvantages. For example, producers have sold their farms in low prices and have borrowed money with high interest rate. So that the price guarantee is preferred to having more ability for price prediction by producers. Contribution from college of Agriculture, Shiraz University.

Water scarcity is one of the most important bottleneck in the development of agricultural sector of Iran. So, irrigation efficiency improvement strategies could be among the best solution to increase water productivity of this sector. In the process of mechanization, the rate of capital investment and efficiency increases in comparison with the level of labour force. So extension of mechanization in the regions that are faced with lake of labour force is reasonable. Replacing modern irrigation methods for conventional ones increase the efficiency of labour force. In Iran which is a dry country this may be reasonable but in relation to labour force the area's condition must be considered too. In this study, the effect of adoption of water saving technology on the level of labour requirements is considered. Therefore the result of this study could be used for policy recommendation.A sample of 115 producers was selected by two stage stratified random sampling method and interviewed. Using Multiperiod Mathematical Programming method, two models were built for study farmers. The studies assumptions and goals were tested with the use of these models. The results indicated that in dry condition which the extension of the areas under cultivation is probable the extension of water saving methods may cause the rate of employment and requests for farming labour force to increase. This can bring more lands into cultivation. So, demand for labour may increase.

In this paper we examined the behaviour of private investment in the Iranian agriculture. The desired level of capital stock is considered to be a behavioural outcome of objective of maximizing the net return over time, or the net percent value. Assuming C-D production function we used investment function model derived by Gandhi. Regarding that the model had a linear and a non-linear component a non - linear estimation procedure was used. One of the difficulties we faced in this study was unclear or inaccurate statistical data available on capital stock. Almost for all the empirical researches, aiming to estimate the capital stock in Iran, especially for the main economic sectors, lack of data on the net investment or the Rate of Depreciation of fixed capital (RDFC) is a major problem. In this paper, we used method suggested by kiani and Boghosian (1997) for estimation of RDFCs, and the time series of capital stock for the agricultural sector of the Iranian economy.

Nomads are societies with a special economic activities and unique social,cultural and settlement characteristics. From economic view point their income relies on traditional animal production with continuous migration across the rangelands. In Iran nomadic system witnessed diverse changes during the recent decade. The present study tries to give a better understanding about production systems of nomads in Khorasan as a representative of nomadic society in Iran.Data were collected from 1831 questionnaires in 19 cities during summer quarter and 29 questionnaires in 4 cities during winter quarter. The results showed that animal, wool, milk and hair accounts for 66.2, 13.8, 16.8 and 3.2% of total annual income, respectively. In addition to cattle raising activities, 12.9 percent of the sample nomadic householdes were engaged in crop farming activity as well.Of the total number of these households, 60.3 percent had crop farming activities in summer quarter, 8.5 percent in middle quarter and 29 percent in winter quarter. Furthermore, of the total number of these nomadic household's 43.6 percent were producing handicrafts, of which 71.1 percent was for self consumption, 11.9 percent for sale and the rest for both sale and self consumption.

Considering the status of wheat in dietary pattern of the Iranian people and its role in creating employment and value-added in rural and urban economy, the production of this farm product is a major concern for agricultural policy-makers as well as farmers. The purpose of this article is to investigate the impacts of socio- economico - productive characteristics of wheat farmers on the quantity of yield per hectare of wheat. The age of wheat farmer, his level of literacy, the distance of wheat farm from rural services centers (R.S.C), number of his communications to R.S.C, and the number of land units allocated to wheat farming are chosen as independent variables. The elasticity coefficients are estimated via a regressional production function.

Chemical fertilizer and pesticide prices have increased in recent years. The main reason for such price increase was that low level of input prices have led to their wasteful utilization in the production process of diverse products.This study evaluated the impact of the policy of reducing subsidy on these inputs in kerman (Jiroft and Kahnooj). For this purpose, data were collected from questionnaires, and sample farmers were interviewed. Descriptive statistics including mean and standard deviation were calculated.Area under cultivation, production level, input usage (especially chemical fertilizers and pesticides before and after price increase), and revenue per hectare, were analyzed. In addition percentage changes in the level of agricultural commodities grown in the area were calculated. Different chemical fertilizers and pesticides in terms of imports were also analyzed. SPSS software was applied for the statistical calculations.

Water is one of the most fundamental resources for the continuation of life, creation of prosperity and achievement of economic development, especially in a country like Iran with its arid and semi-arid ecological conditions. The problem of water scarcity in the Sistan region which is selected for the field study of this research, is very acute, hence the problem of its allocation becomes very important and indispensable. In the allocation of water, the basic question is how to utilize the scarce factor (resource) so that the profit can be maximized. Thus the distribution management of this factor becomes very important. This paper attempts to specify the best form of water allocation in order to maximize the profit gained from the utilization of water in the Sistan region. Data and information used in the study have been obtained through questionnaires, interviews as well as library research. Also linear programming method was used, the result of which has revealed the efficiency of the present water allocation pattern in the region.

Animal husbandry, one of the main components of the agricultural sector, is one of the basic sources of human nutrition and plays a significant role in the economic development of the country. Regarding increasing needs of the country for the sufficient food which stems from the population growth, and in view of the low production capacities, the need for ore utilization of food resources has become more acute especially in the case of livestock products.In addition to the important share of the red meat in the total value of imports as well as employment activities, it should he noted that every year huge amount of foreign exchange resources is allocated for the import of this product from abroad. Thus study the ways and means of achieving self- sufficiency in production of this product is of great significance. The following are some of the results of this study: 1. Of the total domestic livestock, 81 percent is at the disposal of the rural dwellers, the number of whom amount to 2.4 million producers. 2. In 1370 the share of value added of the animal husbandry sub - sector in the value added of the agricultural sector was 43.4 percent. 3. Iran was in a favourable condition as regards the number of livestock. 4. Total areas of the country's pastures and range lands which was 90 million hectares during the last three decades has been depleted and is 88 million hectares at the present. 5. Production of animal fodder from the domestic pastures and range lands has been decreased from 4 million T.D.N to 3.5 million T.D.N during the last three decades. 6. Existing pastures can satisfy only 12.8 percent of the animal fodder requirement of the country. 7. Number of domestic livestock is not in commensurate with the areas of pastures and range lands in different provinces. 8. Domestic livestock suffer from fodder deficiency, thus they are not able to gain proper weight during a specified period of time. 

The role of land use systems is very important in agricultural development and the use of soil and water resources has been one of the fundamental issues of Iran's agriculture.It's importance is due to the types of land use systems which can affect production and resource allocation and in many cases it limits the utilization of agricultural  technology. The types of agricultural land use systems in Astan-e-Ghods-e-Razavi have been investigated and compared from resource allocation pattern, productivity and input consumption point of view. Suggestions have been proposed to improve the situation based on the available technology and sustainability of resources.

Rural labour market disequilibrium might become more critical in the next few year. This is, on the one hand, due to an increase in the supply of labour force which itself is the result of low population average age and high level of education, as well as high rate of inflation. On the other hand it is the result of low demand for the rural labour due to the inability of agricultural sector to creat employment opportunities. In this study supply of the rural labour force was assumed as a function of educational coverage, agricultural value added, rural unemployment rate, consumer price index, rate of higher education and rate of urbanization. The result of study revealed that annual average increase in the rural labour force would be 125000 persons. In order to lower the unemployment rate from 15.7 % to 9.4 % by the end of the third development plan, creation of 200000 new job opportunities is required. The result of study also indicated that creation of 71000 new job opportunities annually would lead to an unemployment rate of 16.8 percent. Inability to create sufficient job opportunities would lead to the migration of the rural unemployed to the urban areas. To avoid the social costs of this event, the proper labour force policies should carefully focus on the shortcomings of the prevailing rural labour market in Iran.

The positive attitude of researchers, extension workers and farmers toward participation is necessary for any participatory approach. The main purpose of this study was to measure the researchers' attitude toward participation with extension workers, as well as to identify related variables in researchers' attitudes. The study was conducted in four Agricultural Research centers in Iran (1998-1999). Data were collected by using questionnaire and document analysis.The results of this research revealed that cooperation between researchers and extension workers were at low level. As a whole, attitudes toward participation with extension workers were positive. Researchers with the following characteristics had more positive attitude toward participation with extension workers: a) having more research experience, b) having more cooperative activities with extension workers, c) having lower scientific position, d) having higher management position, and e) having more participation records in conferences, sessions and meetings as regards extension services. It also become evident that researchers attitude was influenced by their colleagues and managers.Recommendations were: 1) to encourage participatory outlook with the extension workers. 2) participatory activities are to be initiated on the basis of researcher's views, 3) for promoting participatory approaches and training programs researchers must be considered as the focal points.

ars province is one of the main producers of field crops in the country.Almost 48 percent of the total corn production of the country is produced in this province. Thus construction of a corn drying unit for the preservation and processing of the product is of great significance for the economy of the province. Regarding the high cost of construction of large or medium scale of corn drying units, using PERT & CPM method would be very useful for the management of these units. Required information for this research were obtained through interviews as well as questionnaires in Marvdasht city in 1376.