فصلنامه روستا و توسعه
سال دهم شماره 4 (پیاپی 40، زمستان 1386)

One of the main purposes of insurance is to influence use efficiency for different inputs of insured farmers. This can catalyze rural development and lead to an increase in income and welfare of farmers in rural communities. The objective of the present study is to examine the influence of farm product insurance on the production efficiency of agricultural operators and economic development of rural communities. We selected farm cultivators in Fars province as our research community. The data were collected in a cross sectional manner and from three climatic zones including warm semidesert, Mediterranean, and cold mountainous in year 2005. It used multi -stage stratified cluster sampling procedures and two groups of farmers - insured and non insured- were interviewed. The sample included 162 insured and 248 non insured farmers. The results indicated that insurance has a positive influence on the production of wheat cultivators in Mediterranean zone, while its impacts on the production of wheat cultivators in semidesert, and mountainous zones were partly negative and negative respectively. We can conclude that insurance -with respect to increase in production - has a random effect in most areas and farms. The increase in production is dependent mostly on personal and managerial traits of the insured. Thus, the promotion of crop insurance efficiency is dependent on supplying extension services to raise farmer’s awareness about the merits of insurance, mechanisms to raise production and efficiency of using inputs.

This paper is an attempt to study the contribution of farming systems to rural development in Isfahan province. In order to identify statistical population, first, those villages with different types of farming systems were identified. Second, for each system, villages were selected where at least half of the farmers were member of that system. There are three major farming systems in the province and 300 villages were selected for the study. The total number of indices on two sides was listed and after omission and integration 27 indicators were selected for the two issues of farming systems and rural development. The results of structural equations showed that the most interactions can be observed between rural development indices and farming systems indices in production cooperatives such that the relationship between the majority of indices of the two factors are significant. Peasant systems and common cooperative systems came second and third after the production cooperative with respect to the subject. The estimated Goodness of Fit Index (GFI) for production cooperative systems, family systems and common cooperative systems were 0.989, 0.973 and 0.746 respectively.

A framework for an optimal pattern of cooperation extension planning system is based on several principles and it is necessary to treat it appropriately. These principles include two sided flow of information, adapting to geographical and environmental conditions, adjusting to cultural features of rural communities, utilization of local institutions in the extension and information diffusion, general coverage and environmental sustainability.In this line, the present paper used an exploratory-analytical approach and relied on field findings and aforementioned principle to present an optimal pattern of cooperation extension planning system for rural areas in Semnan province. The study used SWOT method. The results indicated that the average total of threats and weaknesses is less than the average total of opportunities and strengths. Thus, the proposed macro strategy for an optimal pattern of cooperation extension planning system which is appropriate for rural areas is an SO (strength-opportunity) strategy. Examples of SO strategy include: finding areas to extend and organize cooperatives that are appropriate to potentials and conditions of each village; and utilizing the potentials and experiences of formal and informal institutions to perform cooperation extension planning in rural areas.

The purpose of this study is to identify factors that contribute to the success of rural women’s entrepreneurship. The statistical population includes entrepreneur rural women in three provinces of Gilan, Mazandaran and Golestan. The required data were collected by questionnaire. The research findings show the average age of women entrepreneurs is 38 and almost half of them were the first or second child of their family and their father’s main occupation was agriculture. The majority of women concentrated their activities on agriculture, livestock breeding, handicrafts, and services. Prioritizing those with most significant influence on the respondent’s success indicated that family was the most important one. The most important motive that induces the women to initiate an enterprise and to succeed was to improve living conditions and income of their family. From the respondent’s point of view the possibility is more available to estimate people’s need and demand for products and services in comparison to other factors. From the point of psychological characteristics, women entrepreneurs were generally visionary, self sufficient and progressive. More than half of the women entrepreneurs participated in entrepreneurship training workshops. From the viewpoint of participation in social activity, most of them were a member of cooperatives. The most frequently used channels of communication to acquire knowledge about their occupation were TV, visit each other enterprise, and participation in training and extension workshops. Rural women entrepreneurs level of success was more in Mazandarn than in the other two provinces. Women who emphasized emphatically their father’s influence on their success were on average succeeded more than those who perceived otherwise. There is a positive and significant relationship between the level of success of women entrepreneurs and motivations to generate income, contribute to the well-being of the family, and using internet, TV, and radio. There is a significant and negative relationship between women’s success and being an autonomist or profit seeking individual.

Appropriate communication has a significant influence on development of a society, and it is one of the important indicators of growth and development. In addition, self sufficiency and self reliance can be realized by paying special attention to rural areas and provision of roads in these areas. In order to assess the linkage between degrees of access to rural roads and level of development, the present study was carried out in south Ghohab and south Baraan subdistricts in central part of Isfahan county. In the first step we categorized the rural areas according to their development level using Z score analysis. In the second step a map of rural roads was prepared and a score was estimated for degree of access to rural roads. In the final step, we used Pearson correlation test to assess the relationship between access to rural roads and level of development. The research findings indicated that the estimated level of association between level of development and access to rural roads were 0.822 and 0.786 in south Baraan and south Ghohab respectively, both coefficients indicated a direct and significant relationship between the two variables.

Specialism together with scientific and social change call for more collaboration among different disciplines. This collaboration is indeed imperative and inevitable to resolve the problems a society facing. Based on this necessity this paper was prepared in a documentary research framework. Research findings show social work and rural extension are among those professions that have common aspects concerning the background inside the country, the domestic and international trend of changes, and the type of audience. While there are some communalities between the two, differences can also be observed. Social work clients have a clear-cut understanding of it; however they do not have an insight about the advantages of extension trainings. There are emerging demographic changes in rural community, among which the most important one is the growth of disabled and aged groups. These changes are such that those who have once been a client of social work increasingly become a client of agricultural extension activities. On the other hand, the presence of social workers is inevitable considering the quantitative growth of disabled and aged groups in rural areas of the country. These realities demand a joint effort between social workers and agricultural extensionists. These interactions can enrich activities of each party by building on each other experiences which can contribute.

Due to inappropriate and centralized planning in the past, the quality of development and its related infrastructure has created major issues in the development trend of the country. The diversity and complexity of the subject is one of the major constraints that inhibit the provision of an appropriate model for the distribution of credit. The first step in solving the problems associated with the imbalances driven by regional imbalances is to recognize and categorize regions based on their economic, infrastructure, socio-economic communication, healthcare, training and so forth. The main objective of this study is to assess the potential for developing human settlement in Sharekord at the sub-district level. The study used evaluation models, and analytical and documentation methods. Based on this, 37 indicators were identified from which 7 indices were extracted (training, health, public utilities, communication, tourism, economic and internal). The study was carried out in 11 sub districts and the results were analyzed by SWOT. The findings of study show, a comprehensive planning is required to reflect the strengths, reinforced opportunities, and combat the threats since, the variance of development level in this county is imbalanced and the difference and dispersion of training and health indices have the most significant impact on the development level. The recommendations of this study can contribute to the improvement and rehabilitation of county level development.

This paper used Delphi technique and SWOT model. To draw an outlook of the ICT expansion, in each part of the model, questions were presented and based on the received responses the required analysis were carried out in three rounds to draw an outlook A pretest was carried out in a statistical population which included all the ICT and rural development experts in Kermanshah county. Based on the received responses those who were not well familiar with ICT omitted. Simultaneously the rural and urban expert views were compared. The existence of electricity, telecommunication office, a young educated class and tourist attractions were counted as points of strength, and poor telecommunication facilities, high overhead, little attraction for private sector to invest, the lack of local experts and low educational level were viewed as points of weakness. Access to world markets, reducing the middlemen’s role, positive attitudes of those responsible, inclusion of ICT in fourth five year plan and enhancement of rural tourism were mentioned as points of opportunities, and increase in consumerism, abnormal behavior were counted as points of threats. In addition, the results indicated that the two groups of rural and urban expert shared a common view that the following completions would result from the expansion of ICT in rural areas: access to world market, enhancement of social participation, environmental conservation. However, they did not hold a unified view concerning point such as a rise in unemployment and poverty, and the existence of local knowledge. In sum, we are optimistic towards the expansion of ICT in the area under study.