Shukrullah Shwoban; Arash Dourandish; Mohammad Ghorbani
Abstract
Saffron is one of the agricultural products considered for cultivation by Afghan farmers in recent years. Investigation of willingness of farmers in this region to continue cultivating this crop is especially important in developing this product and promoting it at the global level due to the exceptional ...
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Saffron is one of the agricultural products considered for cultivation by Afghan farmers in recent years. Investigation of willingness of farmers in this region to continue cultivating this crop is especially important in developing this product and promoting it at the global level due to the exceptional position of Afghanistan’s saffron in the world. Therefore, the aim of this study is investigating willingness of farmers in Herat to continue production of Saffron. Data was collected using the random sampling method and completing questionnaires and performing personal interviews with saffron farmers in the Herat province in 2018 with 202 samples. The willingness to continue cultivating saffron farmers in the Herat Province was classified into four categories: very low, low, medium, and high. The results of using the ordered Logit model show that the variables yield, price, size of the farmer's household, saffron cultivation experience and capital have a positive influence on increasing willingness to continue cultivation of this product by saffron producers. On the other hand, non-agricultural income, age and availability of labor have an inverse effect on willingness to continue saffron production. At the end, suggestions are provided to achieve the research’s goal. These include provision of low-cost facilities for farmers to provide easier and cheaper access to utilization of new technologies such as use of laboratories, improvement of packaging quality and drying equipment.
Economics and Marketing
Arash Dourandish; Mohammadreza Ramezani; Milad Aminizadeh
Abstract
Increasing factor productivity in the agricultural sector is essential, and with the growing population, the need to invent more productive systems is highlighted. However, agronomic activities have always been accompanied by environmental impacts. Therefore, the two categories of productivity and agricultural ...
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Increasing factor productivity in the agricultural sector is essential, and with the growing population, the need to invent more productive systems is highlighted. However, agronomic activities have always been accompanied by environmental impacts. Therefore, the two categories of productivity and agricultural sustainability should be considered simultaneously. The present study aimed at identifying factors affecting the total factor productivity of saffron farms in Gonabad County with an emphasis on the role of attitude towards sustainable agriculture. In order to achieve the research objectives, 110 questionnaires were completed and after calculating the total factor productivity using the Tornqvist-Theil index, an Ordered-logit model was used to identify factors affecting productivity. The results indicate that attitudes toward sustainable agriculture and income have positive and significant effects on farmers' access to higher levels of productivity, while variable of participation in training courses significantly reduces the probability of achieving higher levels of productivity. Variables of sown area, agricultural insurance and main job do not have significant effects on the probability of achieving different levels of productivity. Undertaking policies which improve attitude of saffron producers towards sustainable agricultural activities and informing them about the effects of unsustainable farming, a fundamental revision of the content of training courses, financial support of farmers for provision of agricultural inputs and reforming the structure of the agricultural insurance system are effective ways to improve productivity of saffron production.
Economics and Marketing
Arash Dourandish; amirhossein tohidi; Mona Mousavi
Abstract
Saffron, a valuable agricultural product in the national and international level is valued by consumers in different ways and the price paid for it depends on different factors. Identifying these factors can be helpful to marketing saffron with the price that is consistent with consumer preferences. ...
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Saffron, a valuable agricultural product in the national and international level is valued by consumers in different ways and the price paid for it depends on different factors. Identifying these factors can be helpful to marketing saffron with the price that is consistent with consumer preferences. The major aim of this study is to evaluate the factors that affect the price of saffron in Mashhad using the Hedonic pricing model. What distinguishes this study from previous studies is using the sensitivity analysis approach in the context of artificial neural networks. The information needed for this research was collected from 120 saffron buyers in the city of Mashhad with the random sampling approach. Considering the 14 explanatory variables, the results showed that age and brand have the least impact on the price of saffron, while the consumption goals variable has a significant effect on the price of this product. Among the goals, nutritional uses has a positive effect, and medical and industrial uses have a negative effect on the price of saffron. According to the research findings, manufacturers and suppliers of saffron are recommended to price the product according to the buyers’ consumption goals, sale style and the saffron type, respectively.
Economics and Marketing
Arash Dorandish; Amirhossein Tohidi; Parisa Alizadeh
Abstract
Packaging is a tool for recognition and differentiation of product and it plays a crucial role in consumers' purchasing decisions, and it can be used to create competitive advantages. Saffron is one of the most important agricultural crops in Iran and its packaging in accordance with consumer demand ...
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Packaging is a tool for recognition and differentiation of product and it plays a crucial role in consumers' purchasing decisions, and it can be used to create competitive advantages. Saffron is one of the most important agricultural crops in Iran and its packaging in accordance with consumer demand increases sales and satisfaction of the consumers. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to rank the factors affecting the packaging from the perspective of consumers of saffron in Mashhad. Data was collected in the form of 99 questionnaires that have been answered by the consumers of saffron in Mashhad in 2015. Analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was used to rank these factors. The results showed that labeling information about internal and international standards and saffron nutrients on the package have the greatest impact on consumer preferences. Also, the results of the ranking alternatives indicated that attention to the brand labelled on the packing is the most important issue from the perspective of the consumers. Hence, labelling information elements on the package can be a good way for brand differentiation and increasing its value. According to the results, it is recommended that producers and suppliers of saffron pay more attention to features and information elements in package design.
Economics and Marketing
Ahmadreza Shahpouri; Mohammad Ghorbani; Arash Dourandish; Mohammadreza Kohansal
Abstract
Considering the importance of planning at the production level, it is necessary to identify the consumer's future behavior towards organic products. Thus, using seemingly unrelated regression and data of 2012 for 200 households in mashhad, in the present study we have tried to determine the future share ...
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Considering the importance of planning at the production level, it is necessary to identify the consumer's future behavior towards organic products. Thus, using seemingly unrelated regression and data of 2012 for 200 households in mashhad, in the present study we have tried to determine the future share of these products in the household's basket and also survey the effective factors on this share in organic saffron. The results showed that households in mashhad tend to allocate an average of 34 percent of their future consumption basket for organic saffron. The regression results illustrated that while children below 10 years old in the households, willingness to pay the price differential compared with non-organic products and organic labeling positively affected the willingness to pay for organic products, environmental concerns variables created by non-organic products had a negative effect on their willingness. Considering the research results, helping to raise people's awareness about food through different educational and advertising approaches, providing a mechanism to label organic products and assessing the strengths and weaknesses of producing and distributing the organic products are provided as suggestions.
