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.
Agriculture
Arash Dourandish; Mohammadreza Ramezani; Milad Aminizadeh
Abstract
Saffron is one of the most important agricultural and export products whose production is the main source of income in many rural areas in east of the country. However, the yield of saffron farms decreased by almost 36% during 1971-2015. The Gonabad county in the Khorasan Razavi province as one of the ...
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Saffron is one of the most important agricultural and export products whose production is the main source of income in many rural areas in east of the country. However, the yield of saffron farms decreased by almost 36% during 1971-2015. The Gonabad county in the Khorasan Razavi province as one of the largest saffron producers in Iran also faces this problem. Evidences suggest that the high use of chemical inputs, especially chemical fertilizers, can be considered as one of the main causes of yield decrease. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the effective factors on use of chemical fertilizers with an emphasis on the role of attitude and awareness of saffron producers. In order to achieve the research objectives, 105 questionnaires were completed based on proportional random sampling and an ordered logit model was carried out. The results showed that two variables of farmers’ attitude towards sustainable agriculture and awareness about yield-reducing factors have negative and significant effects on the probability of chemical fertilizer use. While the variables of farmers’ income, age, education and agricultural insurance have positive and significant effect on the probability of chemical fertilizer use. Therefore, undertaking appropriate policies in order to boost farmers’ attitude towards sustainable agricultural practices and increase the awareness of farmers about the negative and long-term effects of excessive use of chemical fertilizers, encouraging trusted and experienced farmers to reduce the use of fertilizers and reconsidering the content of training courses have a decisive role in enhancing the pattern of chemical fertilizers use.
