JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS AND DEVELOPMENT
Year:2023 | Volume:31 | Issue:121|Papers Count:10

Eggs are one of the most important protein products with a special place in the food basket of Iranian households. The large changes in the price of this product can have a great impact on buyers and producers. A large share of the cost of egg production is related to the consumption of two inputs, soy and corn; therefore, the final price and fluctuations in the price of eggs are highly dependent on the prices of these two inputs and their fluctuations. In this research, by using bounds-testing, the long-term and short-term relationships between egg prices and soybean and corn prices were explored, as well as the effect of the price shocks of these inputs in the egg market. This test was carried out in the form of Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) and the presence of cointegration relationship between the variables in different modes was investigated. Since the lack of long-term relationship between the variables was rejected in all three studied modes, the Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) was found to be suitable for investigating the shocks on the egg market. The study results showed that the shocks on soybean prices had the greatest effect on the fluctuation of egg prices in the short term, and in the long term, the leadership of the egg price (increase or decrease in the price of eggs) was done by the shocks on the corn market. Therefore, it is suggested that in the short term, the policy-maker should prevent the transfer of shocks from the soy market to eggs by adopting suitable tariff policies (variable tariff appropriate to fluctuations in global input prices); in addition, with the development of corn cultivation in areas susceptible to cultivation, the need to import this product would be minimized, because with self-sufficiency in corn production, the impact of global shocks on the market of this product and the egg market will be reduced, and it will be easier to control domestic shocks than the global shocks.

Iran has an arid and semi-arid climate and is on the verge of a severe water crisis. Therefore, solutions should be sought to save water consumption, especially in sectors such as agriculture with a high share of water consumption. A virtual water exchange strategy is one of the suitable methods to save water in the agricultural sector. Attention to water resources, economic factors, technology and transportation, society, and environment is necessary to examine the suitability of virtual water exchange plans among regions. In this regard, this study aimed at constructing a composite index using Principal Components Analysis (PCA) method and the data of 2014 as well as investigating the virtual water exchange through the group of pulses products and the suitability of the virtual water exchange plans in pulses for each province of Iran based on the constructed composite index. The results showed that for the exchange of virtual water through the lentil crop, the provinces of East Azerbaijan, Fars, Qazvin, Ardabil, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Zanjan, Semnan and Kohgiluyeh and Boyer Ahmad and for the bean crop, the provinces of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer Ahmad, Zanjan, Fars, Lorestan and Markazi, and also, for the chickpea crop, the provinces of East Azarbaijan, Zanjan, Fars and Kermanshah had medium to high status. Therefore, policy makers can use these results in designing the appropriate cultivation pattern and formulating policies for optimal allocation and increasing water productivity in Iran's provinces.

In Iran, due to the low capital requirement of beekeeping as well as the presence of many natural pastures with nectar-producing and pollinating plant species, this activity is very important. For a long time, honey has been known as one of the most widely consumed food products, which is considered as the most widespread traditional medicine in the country due to its unique medicinal properties. Therefore, this study aimed at investigating the export performance of Iranian honey and prioritizing its target markets. For this purpose, the comparative advantage of honey export was first calculated using the Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) and Revealed Symmetric Comparative Advantage (RSCA) indices during 2001-2018 and the structure of Iran's honey export market was determined using the Herfindahl-Hirschman index (HHI). Then, numerical taxonomy method was used to prioritize actual honey export markets. The results showed that the comparative advantage of honey fluctuated in the studied years and the competitive risk for Iranian honey exporters was higher than competitors as well as during the studied period, until 2008, the export market of world honey had a multilateral monopoly structure and from 2009 to 2018, it had an open multilateral monopoly structure, and the structure of Iran's honey export market and also the structure of the world honey import market were of a multilateral monopoly during this period. According to the studied indicators, the study results showed that the markets of Saudi Arabia, Iraq, UAE and Malaysia were considered as the best markets for Iranian honey. Therefore, according to the target countries introduced based on the results of the prioritization in this study, it is appropriate that while paying attention to the private sector and supporting its active presence in these countries, the export market should be moved away from focusing on a few limited and traditional markets and also monopolizing in the purchase of target markets while being directed towards diversification in these markets.

Agro-processing industries play an important role in contributing to sustained growth and development. The agro-industries provide value added products with less wastes along with generating more employment opportunities and net income. The scope of the agro-processing industry involves all processes from farm to fork. Khuzestan province of Iran has a special place in agriculture of the country, due to its climate, productive areas and large and permanent rivers flow; however, the development of agro-processing industries in this province is not at the expected level. This study was an applied research in terms of nature and a descriptive analytic one in terms of methodology and it aimed at providing solutions for development of food processing industries in Khuzestan province. For this purpose, situations and problems were identified using phone and face to face interviews through the questionnaires completed by Khuzestan government employees (food and drug administration, agriculture-Jahad organization, department of industry and trade and mines, industrial estate company) as well as industrial experts and top executives of food processing plants (totally, 107 people). After checking interviews texts and questionnaires, internal matrix (strengths and weaknesses) and external matrix (opportunities and threats) were verified. Finally, suggested strategies using Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM) were prioritized. As shown by the study results, the development of technology and innovation using the scientific power of experts with balanced score of 0.170 and inequality in benefiting from existing facilities and regulations and the existence of personal preferences with balanced score of 0.034 were identified as the most important driving factor and hampering factor, respectively. As final scores of 2.435 for internal factors and 2.325 for external ones were less than median (2.5 for either factors), food industries in Khuzestan were not in good situations. Suggested strategies according to QSPM were ranked and three strategies of "land use planning challenge for food industries" (6.75), "the government's efforts in supporting laws and policies" (6.34) and "payment of credits and low interest loans" (5.98) were ranked higher in scores. It might be concluded that the food industries in Khuzestan province were not in good situation and the producers face many challenges. Therefore, though the land use planning challenge for the food industries is an important issue, other strategies should also be followed.

Given the significant share of chicken meat in the food basket of households, the fiull price and its changes are of financial importance for consumers and producers. In this study, based on the budget of poultry farming units in Fars province of Iran, the cost price of live broiler in different capacities, seasons and types of mechanization systems was calculated and its changes were investigated. Also, the indicators of input cost share, optimal production size, as well as self-price and cross elasticities were calculated by estimating the cost function. The data used were collected from 88 broiler units by random sampling method. The study results showed that the full price of live broiler in the winter season is higher than other seasons, and the decrease in the average price of chicken meat with the increase in production capacity indicated that the smaller the capacity of the farm, the more uneconomical the production becomes, and the use of more modern technology in poultry units would lead to an increase in fixed costs and the full price of the product; the value of cost elasticity in relation to production is on average around 0.876 and therefore, the production of live broiler in Fars province has an upward return to scale. In addition, by calculating the price elasticities, it was found that the input demand was inelastic to price changes and also, the values obtained from Morishma elasticity of substitution indicated the very limited power of choice of the province's poultry industry in substituting production factors with each other. Therefore, due to the low price in live broiler farms with higher capacity and the upward efficiency compared to the scale, it is necessary to plan for developing the units with higher production scales.

The price fluctuations and reduction of production in the agricultural sector tend to double the possibility of jeopardizing food security and community health and public dissatisfaction; therefore, regulating the market of these products is one of the most important concerns of policymakers in the agricultural sector, which will be possible when the policymaker understands well the factors affecting the demand and price sensitivity of households. In this study, in order to estimate the demand, while taking into account the demographic variables, an Almost Ideal Demand System (AIDS) with the translog nonlinear price index and the Generalized Maximum Entropy (GME) approach was used. The results showed that with the increase in the size of a household, the consumption of rice and cereals, eggs, oil and milk by the household would increase. Also, non-compensatory elasticity showed that all the communities examined in the current research, due to their strategic nature, were of low-elasticity and, of course, they were essential communities; the lowest elasticity was related to the rice and cereal group and the highest elasticity was related to the red meat group. Considering the necessity of the examined group of communities, having a long-term vision for supplying communities such as rice, grains and types of meat, which are considered as the most important sources of calories and protein, should be on the policymakers' agenda, so that the producers are protected against sudden fluctuations in the market.

Excessive and undesirable extraction of water resources in many agricultural areas of Iran, especially Marand Plain as one of the agricultural poles of East Azerbaijan province, has revealed the necessity of optimal allocation of limited water resources and the necessity of different irrigation strategies for each crop. Accordingly, this study aimed at determining the optimal cropping pattern of crops with emphasis on water resources limitation in Marand Plain. For this purpose, a fractional programming model with multiple objectives was used to evaluate the relative efficiency of agricultural sustainability. According to the study results, the optimal pattern of sustainable cultivation of the proposed model would reduce the gross income of farmers in the short run, compared with that of the linear programming model; also , based on the results of the model, the water consumption deficit programming model would be done so that there might be no shortage of water in different months while the consumption of harmful chemicals such as chemical fertilizers and pesticides would be at its minimum aa well as eliminating the crops which produce less gross profit than that of the water use pattern from the current cropping pattern and including the crops with low economic cost and low water requirement such as saffron which are compatible with the region's climate. Accordingly, the role of agricultural extension in training modern methods of irrigation, education of scientific agricultural production methods and the role of agriculture in the appropriate use of water saving technologies, the use of saved water in products with higher returns while increasing the area under cultivation such as saffron are more evident to achieve the sustainable agriculture.

Roudsar County of Guilan province in Iran, due to its ecological conditions and high diversity of plants, has a suitable potential in the field of beekeeping which requires less capital and limited land than other agricultural activities. However, beekeepers generally have a relatively lower income and it is necessary to think of measures to increase their production and income. This study aimed at investigating the technical efficiency of the beekeeping units in Roudsar County, and the required data was collected using the random sampling method in person and by completing a questionnaire from 150 beekeepers in 2020. Metadata method was used to identify outliers in the dataset. Also, the bootstrap method was used to determine the type of return to scale test, and the data envelopment analysis model was used to estimate the technical efficiency compared to the group boundary; finally, the super-efficiency model was used to rank the studied units. According to the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test results, the beekeepers who migrate have higher super-efficiency than the beekeepers who do not migrate. The results of technical efficiency also showed that by using current inputs, it is possible to increase honey production by 26.6 percent for the migrating beekeepers and by 34.7 percent for the non-migrating beekeepers. In the end, since some farmers and gardeners do not allow the beekeepers' hives to be placed in their fields and gardens, within a suggestion, it is appropriate that the government or non-governmental organizations, by carrying out cultural and extension activities, take effective steps in order to raise awareness in this field.

This study aimed at evaluating the economic valuation of agricultural ecosystem services of paddy fields in Qaimshahr County of Iran using the conditional logit model. For this purpose, the required information was collected through the questionnaires completed by 252 rice farmers and users of the rice field ecosystem in urban and rural areas within interviews and face-to-face visits in 1400. The study results showed that in order to improve the functioning of the rice paddy ecosystem, the respondents were willing to participate in the related projects, so that the willingness to pay to improve the production and recreational functions, respectively, were equal to 2,843,855 and 5,118,800 IRI rials for each household per year; in addition, the economic value of production and resort functions, respectively, were estimated as 292,775 and 526,980.5 million IRI rials per year, and the total economic value of the functions of the rice paddy ecosystem of Qaimshahri households was calculated as 819,755 million IRI rials per year. Since among the studied functions, the resort function had the highest willingness to pay, based on the findings of the research, it is suggested that the authorities of this area should create the necessary recreational facilities in prone areas, including the creation of artificial lakes and shade, creating the gazebos as well as improvement of the road condition with the cooperation of charity donors, farmers and the people of the region to carry out the necessary policies and measures.

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between factors related to product and price with the development of Iranian pistachio exports. This research was descriptive and correlational in terms of applied purpose and method. The study population was those involved in the industry in the fields of production, processing and services, trade and packaging and export, which according to the table of Georgia and Morgan, the sample size was equal to 205 people. A researcher-made questionnaire was used in this study to examine the research variables. The face and content validity of the questionnaire was confirmed. In the present study, the content validity of the questionnaire has been estimated using the opinions of supervisors and several thematic experts. Formal validity was also confirmed by several respondents. The reliability of the research questionnaire was calculated by Cronbach's alpha, which was more than 0.7 for all dimensions of the questionnaire. Data analysis was performed by SPSS and Smart PLS software. The results showed that there is a significant relationship between product characteristics and price with export development. The results also showed that the product factor has a greater impact on the development of pistachio exports than price