IRANIAN AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION AND EDUCATION JOURNAL
Year:2019 | Volume:15 | Issue:2|Papers Count:16

Concerns about the environment in general and water scarcity in particular have led to the implementation and development of policies aimed at changing the behavior of farmers in the field of water conservation. Many environmental problems are rooted in human behavior and can be solved by understanding human behavior. Thus, the purpose of this descriptive research was to analyze the effects of norms on participatory behaviors of farmers towards water conservation. Statistical population of the study was farm households in central region of Zarivar wetland watershed located in Marivan county (N=2097). Sample size determined using Cochran formula (n=237). Sampling method was multi-stages stratified sampling. Face and content validity of the questionnaire explored and verified by a panel of experts. The reliability of the questionnaire was confirmed by calculating Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability coefficients. For data analysis, AMOS and SPSS23 were used. Research findings showed that participatory norms, legal norms, and normative beliefs of farmers had significant positive effects on their participatory behavior towards water conservation. So that normative beliefs (ß = 0. 60) and participatory norms (ß = 0. 18) had the highest and lowest effects on farmers’ participatory behavior towards water conservation, respectively. These variables could account for about 47 percent of variance of the variable participatory water conservation behavior.

Nowadays, networking is recognized as an approach for marketing effectiveness and business success. Networks and networking activities are used by companies as an entrepreneurial approach. The main purpose of this study was investigating the role of entrepreneurial orientation of home business owners on their networkoriented behaviors in the field of agricultural products (citrus ). Statistical population of this research was the home based business owners of agricultural citrus products in five first-ranked and selected provinces of the country in citrus agricultural production. A sample consisting of 384 subjects were selected by a multi-stage cluster sampling method and the research questionnaires were distributed among them and required data collected. Confirmatory factor analysis and convergent and divergent validities were used to determine the validity of research instrument and Cronbach's alpha method was used to examine the reliability. The results showed appropriate validity and reliability scores. Research hypotheses were tested by Structural Equation Modeling with LISREL software. The results show that entrepreneurial orientation and its components have significant impacts on the network-oriented behaviors. According to the results of research, collection, analysis and application of information related to environmental changes in the target market, utilization of new technologies in order to surpass competitors, use of social networks for marketing and sales of products are suggested.

Effective use of meteorological information has paramount importance in decreasing farmers' vulnerability towards climate variability. Analyzing the barriers to meteorological information use by farmers was the main aim of the study. In order to achieve this goal, the research was conducted through two qualitative and quantitative phases. The purpose of first phase was to identify the basic concepts associated with barriers to meteorological information use. Therefore, 12 in-depth interviews were conducted with the farmers of Naghadeh County based on purposeful snowball sampling method. The purpose of second phase was to reduce the concepts that had been extracted from in-depth interviews conducted in the previous phase and then categorize them into some general factors using an exploratory factor analysis (EFA ). All of the farmers in Naghadeh County (N = 9006 ) were the statistical population of this phase which 368 of them were selected as the sample using stratified random sampling method. Research tool was a close-ended questionnaire that developed based on the concepts identified from the qualitative phase. The validity and reliability of questionnaire were confirmed by a panel of academic experts as well as item-total-correlation coefficients, respectively. The results of exploratory factor analysis revealed that the barriers of meteorological information use included "educational-communicative", "normative", "informational", "infrastructural-political", and "professional-economic" barriers. These five factors could account for 54. 96% of the variance of barriers to meteorological information use. Finally, it was recommended that mass media and social networks can be used as a facilitating tool for meteorological information use.

The objective of this study was to identify factors affecting wheat farmers’ safety behavior in the use of personal protective equipment (PPE ) in working with pesticides. The statistical population of present study comprised 4739 of wheat farmers in the central district of Zanjan County from whom which 322 farmers were selected through multi-stage sampling method. Data were collected through a questionnaire. A panel of experts confirmed the content validity of the questionnaire. Composite reliablility and construct validity of research instrument were tested by estimating the measurement model and they were fulfilled through making necessary corrections. The results indicated that farmers’ behavior in the use of PPE was at a low level (i. e., unsafe and potentially unsafe ). Moreover, the empirical results of structural equation modeling multivariate technique revealed that the six components of health belief model including perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, self-efficacy, and cues to action had statistically significant impacts on the farmers’ use of PPE and explained about 64% of its variance.

The main purpose of this study was to identify and explain the internal and external factors affecting the empowerment of rural women receiving microcredits in Kermanshah and Hamedan provinces. This research was a quantitative and descriptive-correlationd study which was conducted using a survey method. The statistical population of the study consisted of all rural women receiving microcredits in Hamedan and Kermanshah provinces (141 people). Data was collected through a questionnaire that it’ s validity was confirmed by a panel of experts in women affair department of Agricultural Jihad Organization and agricultural extension, education, and rural development faculty members. Its reliability was confirmed by calculating Cronbach's alpha coefficient which was higher than 0. 8 for all parts of the questionnaire. Results showed that there was a significant positive correlation between the variables such as "perceived adequacy of received credit amount", "the amount of income earned from the created job", and "the number of created jobs", and "participation in skills training courses" with the level of rural women empowerment. Among the variables, participation in skill training courses was the most important predictors of the rural women empowerment. In this research, based on correlation coefficients between variables, some recommendations were presented for improving the empowerment of rural women.

Leadership competencies are effective factors for the success of agricultural managers. The experts in the field of management and leadership believe that these competencies are usually acquisitive and should be transferred to, or enhanced in students. The identification and development of student leadership competencies have often been neglected in Iran's higher agricultural education system. The purpose of this study was to identify the required leadership competencies in agricultural students from the perspective of university faculties and to determine the current and ideal status of leadership competencies in categories of knowledge, attitude and skill. To provide a list of leadership competencies for agricultural students, the data were collected through semistructured interviews with 14 faculty members who were expert in the field of leadership development. The population of the second part of the study consisted of 108 student members of agricultural science associations of Shiraz University. Out of them, 84 students were selected using simple random sampling and the data were collected through structured interviews. The research findings led to the explanation of three subcategories for knowledge competencies, nine basic concepts in the cognitive category, and finally four subcategories of skill competencies. Also, the research findings indicated that there is a significant difference between the means of current and ideal status of student leadership competencies in each of three categories of knowledge, attitude, and leadership skill. Finally, the overall rankings for each category of the leadership competencies were determined. According to the findings, agricultural students are currently facing shortcomings in terms of developing leadership competencies. Therefore, it is suggested that the training priorities of students in the field of development of leadership competencies should be considered more seriously in the future curriculum planning.

The institutional capacity of cooperatives is the main component that determines the ability of rural cooperatives in adapting to the changes that occur, also in order to meet needs of their members and clients. The purpose of this research was an assessment of institutional capacity of the rural co-operatives in Sari county. This applied research was carried out using survey method. The statistical population of present study were consisted of the all members of the 14 rural co-operatives in Sari county (N = 18812 )that out of them 230 subjects were selected using cluster sampling technique. A researcher-made questionnaire was used to collect data. The validity of the questionnaire was determined based on experts view and reliability was confirmed using Cronbach's Alpha coefficient for different scales (from 0. 73≤ α ≤ 0. 92 ). The results of assessing institutional capacity components in cooperatives indicated that the component resource access development was at very low level, components of institutional learning and innovation and institutional quality were in low level, and the components of institutional effectiveness and efficiency, institutional communication, and integration were at the average level. According to the correlation matrix, there was a positive and significant possitive relationship between the components of institutional capacity. The results of path analysis showed that institutional effectivency and effectiveness were directly influenced by institutional quality, resource access development, institutional learning and innovation, institutional communication, and integration.

Climate change along with mismanagement in the Lake Urmia Basin have caused a severe decline in the its water balance. The continuation of this trend and drying up of the lake have had negative effects on all aspects of life and livelihood of the neighboring provinces. Accurate and comprehensive understanding of these effects from the viewpoint of the villagers and experts provides a basis for forming a correct understanding for planners and authorities to manage this crisis. The purpose of this study was to identify the direct and indirect impact of drying Lake Urmia on livelihoods of rural households. A qualitative approach and the Granded theory method were used for data collection and analysis. The villagers and rural experts of East and West Azerbaijan provinces were the statistical population of the study that were selected through purposive sampling. The finding resulted in 213 direct and indirect impacts for drying the lake. In the axial coding phase, seven core categories including: the decline in quantity and quality of soil and water resources, the threat to social capital, the threat to livelihoods, job security and migration, threat to food security, animal health and their performance, involvement of outside institutions in rural planning, attitudinal, and knowledge change, and climate change increase were extracted and categorized. In selective coding phase, the relationships away categorise were identified and explained. The results showed that drying Lake Urmia had negative impact on all aspects of sustainable rural livelihood and the results of this study can be insightful in effectively management and empowerment of the villagers.

Psychologists believe that the lack of attention to implementation of the meta-cognition in higher education centersin general and agricultural higher education in particular is one of the important factors that leads to lack of skill in students. Therfore, present study was carried out using a qualitative method with the pourose of explaining scenarios, strategies, and policies for institutionalization of meta-cognition theory in agricultural higher education. Requaired data were collected from meta-cognition experts who were selected using snowball sampling method. The SWOT techniqe was employed to analyze the data. At the first step, 15 interviews with the experts of meta-cognition theory in agricultural and educational majors were carrid out. The purpose of these interviews was to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunites, and threats existing in agricultural higher education. At the second step, the identifical item for strength, weaknesses, opprotunities, and threats were given to a panel of experts in order to determine the importance and present situation of each item. Accordingly, the face validity of research tool was confirmed by faculty members and Alpha coefficient values were at acceptable level. According to the point of view of participants, the most important strenghths of agricutural higher education system were including its ability to train human resources with high creativity, critical thinking, innovative, and thoughtfulness. The most significant weakness of the system was lack of stimulus and facilities. Furthemore, instruction for implementing meta-cognition theory (by faculty members ) and lack of previous evidences about employing meta-cognition theory in higher education were the most prominent opportunity and threat of agricultural higher education system, respectively. The result revealed that weaknesses in internal matrix and threats in external matrix were more salient and thus, defensive strategy for institutionalization of meta-cognition theory in agricultural higher education have priority over other strategies. Bsed on defensive strategy, some policy implications were highlighted. At the end, experts were asked to employ these policy implications in identification of policies and solutions for institutionalization of meta-cognition theory. Presented solutions as the practical recommendations can be used by educational managers of agricultural colleges. By doing so, the level of information, intelligence, and meta-cognition skills of faculty members will be increased.

Existing a desired entrepreneurial ecosystem in rural areas largely guarantees the sustainability of rural businesses. The main purpose of the study was to analyze the current and desired situation of the rural entrepreneurship ecosystem in the watershed of the Haraz plain. The research has been conducted using survey and required data were collected by a researcher-made questionnaire based on the Isenberg's Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Model. The statistical population of the study consisted of pluriactive rice farmers in the watershed of the Haraz plain. From whom 182 subjects were identified using snowball sampling. The results of the current situation of the rural entrepreneurship ecosystem showed that the human capital component is in ranked first. However, the policy and financial components were ranked lowest, respectively. Also, the results showed that in the desired situation of the rural entrepreneurship ecosystem, the market component is in the first rank. However, the policy and financial components were ranked lowest, respectively. The results of the Wilcoxon test showed that the deepest the gap between the desired and the current situation belongs to the policy and financial components.

Meteorological information (MI ) and weather forecasts are vital for producing agricultural yields. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of agro-meteorological information from the perspective of farmers in Kohgiluyeh-va-Boyerahmad Province. The study was based on a survey and statistical population consisted of 42000 wheat farmers in the province. Using Cochran sampling formula, 335 of them were selected as a sample. The validity of questionnaire confirmed by a panel of experts in agricultural and meteorological information areas. The reliability of the research tool was investigated using Cronbach’ s Alpha coefficients. The results revealed that most of farmers believe that agro-meteorological information are effective in terms of determining the data of wheat sowing, using insurance services, controlling pests, required seeds, and increasing the quality of wheat, respectively. Communication sources had a significant positive impact on the effectiveness of MI. The result of logistic regression revealed that the affecting components of MI effectiveness consist of the farmer’ s trust, attitude, farming without irrigation system, and level of education, respectively. Therfore, it is expected that the effectiveness of meteorological information be increasing by improving the components.

The main purpose of this descriptive-correlative research was to develop a theoretical model for the investigation of factors affecting farmers’ intention to use Habrobracon hebetor to control tomato Heliothis spp. based on Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB ). The statistical population of the study was 1666 tomato producers in Tarom County in Zanjan Province among which 330 producers were selected by stratified sampling method. The standard questionnaire was used to collect the data. The content validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by a panel of experts. The construct validity (value range of factor loadings was from 0. 58 to 0. 94 and Average Variance Extracted was from 0. 524 to 0. 677 ) and the composite reliability (values range from 0. 766 to 0. 857 ) of the research instrument were tested by estimating the measurement model and they were modified after making necessary corrections. The data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM ) multivariate technique. The empirical results of the study revealed that the main components of the original TPB model including attitude, social norms, perceived behavioral control and self-efficacy had statistically significant positive effects on the variable intention to use Habrobracon hebetor and explained about 51% of its variances. Furthermore, after inclusion of the variable moral norms as the additional predictor of intention in the extended TPB model, the predictive power of the model was found to increase up to 7%. The findings not only provide more empirical evidences in the cognitive processing of intention to use biological control methods, but also provide useful information for the extension of the use of green/clean methods for pests control.

Agricultural extension approach of Iran needs to be changed in order to achieve agricultural rural development; therefore, the Agricultural Extension New Approach (AENA ) was implemented in some provinces of the country since 2015. Future threats and opportunities should be considered in agricultural policies in order to provide better services by agricultural extension approach. Assessment of AENA of Iran in five provinces of Fars, Kermanshah, Ardabil, Golestan and West Azerbaijan as the pioneers in implementing of this new approach was the main purpose of this study. This qualitative research extracted strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of AENA using SWOT as well as weighting and ranking of them by agricultural extension and education experts. Afterwards, the study provides appropriate strategies by confluence of SWOT in order to the AENA improvement. According to the results, defensive strategy was the first priority of agricultural extension policymakers in terms of the three domains of AENA including agricultural area zoning, equipment and organizing of service centers as well as knowledge management. Thus, it tries to present appropriate strategies for weaknesses decrease and threats elimination.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the attitude of extension experts of Alborz province Agricultural Jihad Organization towards Paolo Freire's educational perspective. This study examined the extent of implementation, feasibility, and importance of this approach in informal training courses of Agricultural Jihad Organization. Present study was a descriptive correlational research and survey technique was employed in its data collection process. The statistical population consisted of all experts of Alborz Agricultural Jihad Organization which was studied in full. The data collection tool was a six-part questionnaire that developed based on Paulo Freire's point of views. Its validity was tested by Extractive Mean Variance test, Cross-sectional Load test, Fornell and Larker test, and Multi-method test. The reliability of research instrument was confirmed using Cronbach's Alpha coefficients, Composite Reliability values, and Joint Reliability test. Data analysis was carried out in two separate parts including descriptive and inferential statistics by means of SPSS22 and Smart PLS3 statistical packages. Findings showed that extensional training courses had less role in emancipatory trainings for improving critical thinking of agricultural learners. In spite of the fact that the population of interest was aware of the importance of providing education consistent with Freire's view about unti-oppressive and destructor of stratified structure, emancipatory and critical thinking components were of less feasibility in current situation of the country.

Due to unemployment crisis, enhancing employability of university graduates in order to be able to adapt themselves with the market condition is critical. Therefore, cross-sectional research was conducted to compare self-reported employability of agricultural and engineering faculties students of Kurdistan University. The statistical population of this study consisted of senior students of these faculties in 2015-2016 (544 subject ). According to the Morgan table, 140 of students were selected by proportional random sampling method. SPSS and Smart PLS statistical packages were used to especially analyze the data. According to the results, most of students believe that the work market in Iran is not sufficient, in their area of specialization and it is hard to find a decent job for most graduates. Further more, there was not significant difference between employability of agriculture and engineering students. Also, the results of the effects of independent variables on dependent variables showed that self-efficacy, entrepreneurial skills, knowledge and specialized skills, and entrepreneurial characteristics had the most powerful impacts on employability of students. The result of this study can be used to develop and enhance the employability of agricultural and engineering graduates in Iran.