Agri Eco.
Mohammad-Sadeq Gholipour; Ahmad Abedi-Sarvestani; Ramtin Joolaie
Abstract
The importance of the market for agricultural products is as important as the production of the product. However, marketing has always been one of the major problems of smallholder and family farmers. The present descriptive survey research has investigated the marketing efficiency of agricultural products ...
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The importance of the market for agricultural products is as important as the production of the product. However, marketing has always been one of the major problems of smallholder and family farmers. The present descriptive survey research has investigated the marketing efficiency of agricultural products of rural small family farms. The study population included 2000 family farmers in Basht county in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad provinces. Using the Georgian and Morgan table, 322 of them were studied by random cluster sampling. A questionnaire was used to collect information, the validity of which was confirmed by referring to university professors, and its reliability was confirmed by Cronbach's alpha coefficient. The results showed that the marketing efficiency of family farm agricultural products is equal to 2.5. In other words, one unit increase in product costs, 2.5 units in price increase, which is to the benefit of the producer and to the detriment of the consumer. However, with increasing levels of education, annual agricultural income, number of workers, local infrastructure services, and financial services, the marketing efficiency of products increases. Also, increasing in size of the owned land is inversely related to the numerical value of marketing efficiency. In other words, as the size of owned land increases, the numerical value of marketing efficiency decreases. With increasing in the annual cost of agriculture, the amount of marketing efficiency decreases. The results showed that the marketing efficiency of agricultural products of literate farmers as well as farmers with arable land size more than 1.5 hectares was higher than other farmers. In sum, only 0.3% of farmers had marketing with the desired efficiency (equal to one), and the highest efficiency was related to the path of producers to wholesalers. Establishing marketing cooperatives and promoting a suitable cultivation pattern are among the suggestions of the present study to increase the marketing efficiency of agricultural products.
Ahmad Abedi Sarvestani
Abstract
Economic pressure caused production and efficiency has been considering as major goals in agriculture. Indeed agriculture is not merely a job to make money but it is a way of life which is important regards to its cultural, social and environmental functions. With structural changes in agriculture and ...
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Economic pressure caused production and efficiency has been considering as major goals in agriculture. Indeed agriculture is not merely a job to make money but it is a way of life which is important regards to its cultural, social and environmental functions. With structural changes in agriculture and moving towards big farms and industrial agriculture, the number of family farms is decreasing. These changes have raised questions about its social impact on rural development. This study aims to explain the importance of protecting family farms from social point of view of sustainable development. Furthermore, agricultural experts’ opinion on this matter has been examined. The method consisted of a library study with a survey research in which a statistical sample of 53 agricultural experts was selected randomly from agricultural experts of central organization of Jihad-e-Agriculture in Golestan province. Data collected through questionnaire which its validity and reliability confirmed through face validity and Cronbach’s alpha (α=.74) respectively. Findings indicated that family farming is not only a way for life but also could help to make sustainable occupation, establish social justice, improve food security, conserve environment, increase farmers’ choices, enhance value and ethical virtues and sustain rural communities. However, the survey results indicated that agricultural experts do not have a good attitude in this regard. Based on findings, it is suggested that preservation of family farms be carefully considered in the process of rural development in order to have the important functions of this way of life for rural communities.
