Agriculture
Elham Azizi; Shahin Farabi
Abstract
Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) has been used as food and medicine for Iranians for a long time, from the ancient to the modern period, and several factors have influenced its production and consumption in different provinces, especially Razavi Khorasan. In order to investigate the trend of cultivated area, ...
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Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) has been used as food and medicine for Iranians for a long time, from the ancient to the modern period, and several factors have influenced its production and consumption in different provinces, especially Razavi Khorasan. In order to investigate the trend of cultivated area, stigma production and yield of saffron and also the effect of climatic parameters such as altitude above sea level, average temperature, and precipitation on the cultivation and production of this plant in different cities of Khorasan Razavi Province, a study was conducted by using data of Agricultural Jihad Organization during 1984 to 2020. Results indicated that the highest production and cultivated area in the province of Razavi Khorasan in the studied period were related to Zaveh, Torbat Heydarieh, and Roshtkhar, respectively. Zaveh and Torbat Heydarieh also had the largest portion of irrigated production in the province, with 13.3 and 9.4 %, respectively. Upon comparing the yield of saffron across different cities to the provincial average, it became evident that Gonabad and Torbat Heydarieh secured the first and second positions, respectively, in this comparison. Conversely, Kalat exhibited the lowest percentage in terms of cultivated area, irrigated production, and yield ratio compared to the provincial average. Further analysis revealed that elevation above sea level is positively correlated with both cultivated area and saffron production. Interestingly, there exists a non-linear inverse relationship between annual rainfall and cultivated area, production, and yield of saffron. Moreover, the study found that higher average temperatures are associated with increased saffron production, although the average yield of saffron tends to decrease. Regarding similarities across different cities in Khorasan-Razavi province, an investigation at a 75% similarity threshold indicated the possibility of classifying the province's various regions into five distinct clusters. The cities of Bakharz, Gonabad, Kashmer, Mahvalat, and Roshtkhar were in the first cluster, and the cities of Bajastan, Khaf, Torbat Jam, Neishabur, Bardaskan, and Taibad were in the second cluster, and each of the cities of Torbat Heydarieh and Zaveh also formed two separate branches. The rest of the cities were placed in a cluster. In general, the increasing trend of saffron cultivation and production in Khorasan-Razavi province indicates a greater desire to cultivate this plant by the farmers, considering the climatic and soil conditions of this province.
Fatemeh Rastegaripour; malihe sheybani
Abstract
Climate change is one of the most serious environmental challenges and its long-term effects can have serious economic, social and environmental consequences. The agricultural sector is one of the vulnerable parts in terms of climate change. In this regard, this study aimed to investigate the factors ...
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Climate change is one of the most serious environmental challenges and its long-term effects can have serious economic, social and environmental consequences. The agricultural sector is one of the vulnerable parts in terms of climate change. In this regard, this study aimed to investigate the factors affecting the adaptation strategies by saffron farmers Torbat-e Heydarieh using stratified random sampling method and logit model and five-part questionnaire. Data were collected by completing 380 questionnaires from saffron farmers in Torbat-e Heydarieh in 2018. The descriptive results of the study showed that most saffron farmers believe in increasing temperature, reducing rainfall and the emergence of drought and frostbite. Reducing water supply, reducing yields of saffron, reducing economic efficiency, unemployment and migration are among the consequences of climate change in Torbat-e Heydarieh. Also, based on the results, 63% of saffron farmers are willing to use adaptation strategies. The results of the Logit model estimation show that the variables of agricultural experience, land size, access to credit, extention services, media exposure and education affect the likelihood of choosing adaptive strategies. However, the variables of mechanization level and side occupation did not have a significant effect on the likelihood of choosing compatibility strategies. Therefore, government policies should provide the bank with confidence in providing bank facilities to saffron farmers who provide saffron farmers with the ability and flexibility to manage water resources, soil and other inputs in response to climate change.
