Investigating on Factors Inhibiting the Development of Edible Mushroom Cultivation Enterprises in Rural Area of Golestan Province

Present research was aimed to identify factors inhibiting the development of edible mushroom cultivation enterprises in Golestan province. The methodological approach was a survey type of descriptive study. The statistical population of the study consisted owners of 120 mushroom production units in rural region of Golestan province. Using stratified random method, 100 of them were chosen. Information was gathered through a questionnaire and its face validity was confirmed by experts of agricultural extension and edible mushroom producers. The reliability analysis was conducted with completing 30 questionnaires outside the geographic research region and Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of questionnaire was 0.90. Data were analyzed using SPSS software. The results showed the most important barriers of edible mushroom enterprises in rural regions of Golestan province were lack of familiarity with the appropriate advertising methods and techniques, lack of liquidity and lack of sufficient capital, absence of a specific organization supporting producers, the high price of fuel, water, electricity and gas, lack of technical and engineering consulting services and unhealthy competition among producers. This study has proposed attention to technical training of edible mushroom with managerial entrepreneurship skills for producers.