محمد کاوسی کلاشمی

In recent years,the flow of the Sefidroud River, as the main water supplier of the Sefidroud irrigation and drainage network, has decreased about 50%. Therefore, the optimal use of the available water is essential to sustain agricultural production in Gilan Province, especially rice cultivation. In this regard, it is necessary to investigate the problems of agricultural water management in this network in order to find effective solutions to solve these problems by tracking the main problems. The aim of this research is to investigate the challenges facing water resource management in the paddy fields of Sefidroud irrigation and drainage network. In this regard, after forming a decision tree based on experts opinions and reviewing the existing empirical models, the required data were collected through questionnaires and face-to-face interviews with water experts in Guilan province. The problems were prioritized using Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP). The decision tree was defined atthree levels: the first level consisted of three criteria, the second level included 16 sub-criteria and the third level encompassed 85 sub-sub-criteria. Data analysis was performed using the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP). The results showed that among the three main criteria of water problems and obstacles at the farm level, water supply and water transfer- the water transfer indicator accounted for the largest share of problems at 40%, while the water supply indicator had the lowest share at 29%.. Each of these factors was examined with the sub- criteriathat necessitates specialized evaluations by experts, highlighting the importance of precise and professional decision-making in this field. The primary focus of the network’s reform programs should be on addressing water conveyance issues, such as completing the channels of the Sefidrud irrigation and drainage network.

The concept of resilience focuses on the ability to survive and grow in changing circumstances. Rice production in Guilan province faces many risks in the production system, product and input markets. During the recent years, the decrease of the runoff from the big Sefidroud basin and water deficit has threatened the sustainability of rice production in this province. In this situation, it is necessary to pay attention to the resilience of paddy farmers and to plan properly to identify and prioritize the drivers affecting it. Various dimensions of resilience, including economic, social, technical and physical, were considered in this study. The objective of this study was to identify different drivers separately for these four dimensions and prioritize them using the opinion of sample experts.

The research decision tree was designed with the aim of prioritizing the drivers affecting on the resilience of paddy farmers after summarizing the findings of previous researches and the opinion of sample experts in the form of four criteria and 19 sub-criteria. The research tool was a pairwise comparison questionnaire consisting five comparison groups and 46 pairwise comparisons, which was completed by 10 experts in the field of agricultural resilience in the University of Guilan, Guilan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, and Rice Research Institute of Iran. The grey analytic hierarchical process was used to analyze the data related to pairwise comparisons. The algorithm of this process was implemented in eight steps using MATLAB software. The findings of this process were validated based on the incompatibility index value less than 10%.

The results of this study showed that the economic criterion with a relative weight of 60.30% was the most important driver of paddy farmer’s resilience among the all criteria of the decision tree. Technical, social, and physical criteria with the relative weights of 20.71%, 12.44%, and 6.55%, respectively, were placed in the second to fourth ranks, respectively. The economic sub-criteria, including the assets of the paddy farmer family, income and assets of the paddy farm, were assigned the importance of the first to third priorities, respectively. The final weights related to the three mentioned sub-criteria were 19.43%, 17.19% and 12.15%, respectively, which indicates the high priority of economic drivers in the resilience of paddy farmers. The results of the distance of standard deviation from mean showed that the above mentioned three economic sub-criteria had a very high impact on resilience. Also, the economic sub-criteria of financial affairs and budget and subsidies along with the technical sub-criteria of access to inputs are introduced as drivers with high impact intensity on the resilience of paddy farmers.

The findings of the research indicated the high importance of economic criterion and sub-criteria on the resilience of paddy farmers in Guilan province. Therefore, attention to these drivers and proper planning to improve them should be on the agenda of provincial managers. Adopting the strategy of diversifying farmer’s income sources by using the development of tourism and rural handicrafts and focusing on the creation of workshop-service areas in rural regions will be a way forward in this regard. Also, planning to improve the financial capital and assets of paddy farmers as the most important driver of resilience should be considered. The technical criterion is also very important in the resilience of rice farmers. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the access of rice farmers to inputs and promote the use of modified and resistant seeds.

In the supply chain of essential grains such as rice, fraud, poor supervision and delay in reaching the product to the final destination, are always among the main challenges of the beneficiaries of these chains. Improving the supply chain monitoring and tracking system is the best solution to reduce discrepancy among business partners and information asymmetry in these chains. Blockchain enables the mapping and visualizing of steps in a supply chain easily because of its interconnected and encompassing bridging of actions. it builds trust among the parties included in a supply chain because it provides open access to key data points it captures. Blockchain encapsulates smart contracts and automatically update actions when predetermined conditions of the actions are met. Since blockchain is a distributed ledger consisting of multiple copies, it is almost impossible to tamper with a specific transaction because one has to alter all the copies simultaneously. Blockchain is also advantageous for ensuring and sustaining consensus over the process because all the parties know that the transactions are automated and valid. The application of blockchain technology in the management of supply chains brings many benefits such as traceability, information security, transparency and trust. The traditionality of the method of monitoring and tracking in the rice supply chain brings serious concerns about fraud and lack of quality assurance. In this situation, it is very difficult to create trust and transparency between the stakeholders of the chain. The application of blockchain technology can be the driver of the transition from the traditional management of the rice supply chain in Iran. Identifying the factors affecting the application of this technology in the supply chain and determining their importance can improve the policy-making process in this field. Considering the importance of rice in the food basket of Iranian households and the existing concerns about safety and issues such as fraud in the supply chain of this product, the present study identifies the drivers influencing the use of blockchain technology in the rice supply chain and also, their prioritization took into account.

This study is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive-survey in terms of research method. The research tool is a pairwise comparison questionnaire based on the objective, criteria and sub-criteria of the decision tree. The decision tree was formed with the aim of identifying and prioritizing the drivers affecting the use of blockchain technology in the rice supply chain, and it includes six criteria and 26 sub-criteria. The findings of previous researches and the opinions of sample experts were used in designing the decision tree. The required information was obtained by completing the pairwise comparison questionnaire by 10 rice market experts in Guilan province during the spring of 2023. In order to analyze the data and determine the relative weight of research criteria and sub-criteria, spherical fuzzy hierarchical analyze was used. This process is carried out in five stages, including creating a decision tree, creating a matrix of paired comparisons using linguistic terms, checking the consistency of the matrix of paired comparisons, calculating fuzzy weights and determining the final rating score of the options. In order to categorize the sub-criteria in terms of the effect intensity, the interval of standard deviation from mean was used.

According to the number of decision tree criteria and sub-criteria, seven comparison groups and 62 pairwise comparisons were analyzed. The validity of the research findings was evaluated using the inconsistency index. The value of the inconsistency index in all comparisons were less than 10%, which indicates the validity of the relative weights. The criteria of "smart contract", "traceability and prevention of fraud" and "simplification of transactions" with a total relative weight of more than 57% are three important criteria according to experts’ comments, respectively. Among the sub-criteria of the smart contract, "increasing the credibility of the rice supply chain" is the most important with a relative weight of 29.52 percent. Regarding the sub-criteria related to "traceability and prevention of fraud" and "simplification of transactions", "quick identification of rice" with a relative weight of 20.30% and "doing payment without the need for a bank" with a relative weight of 24.65% were the most important drivers. Classification of drivers using the interval of standard deviation from mean showed that there are four sub-criteria in the impact category with very high intensity, eight sub-criteria in the impact category with high intensity, 11 sub-criteria in the impact category with low intensity and three sub-criteria in the impact category with very low intensity. Increasing the credibility of the rice supply chain, no need to physical presence in setting up contracts, safe storage of rice supply chain information, and speeding up data transfer in the rice supply chain are sub-criteria with very high impact intensity.

The use of blockchain technology in managing and optimizing the supply chain of agricultural and food products is emphasized by many researchers, operational managers and policy makers. Many challenges in the rice supply chain require promoting the use of new technologies such as blockchain. The findings of this research, including the identification, prioritization and classification of drivers affecting the use of blockchain technology in the rice supply chain, provide a suitable opportunity to formulate a related policy package and operational measures in the supply chain.

The development of sustainable animal husbandry plays an important role in establishing food security, improving welfare, increasing the income of rural households, improving productivity, creating job opportunities, creating links with other economic sectors, and rural development. In Iran, the issue of sustainable development of the animal husbandry industry and creating sustainability is one of the most important issues of the country because the animal husbandry industry is one of the most important sub-sectors of the agricultural industry, which produces the most important basic food of the country, i.e., red meat. The main goal of this research is to identify and prioritize the obstacles and problems of sustainable animal husbandry development in Guilan province. The development of the agriculture and animal husbandry industry is necessary to access a sufficient amount of food and energy and to cover the ever-increasing demand due to the increase in the population. Guilan province has a suitable capacity for the development of animal husbandry activities. Paying attention to the existing research gaps, by summarizing findings in this field, using the opinion of animal husbandry industry experts, and the application of the multi-indicator decision-making model, this study identified the obstacles and problems for the development of sustainable animal husbandry in Guilan province.

Various criteria have been introduced in previous research as key factors for the sustainable development of animal husbandry, the most important of which included structural, institutional, economic, cultural, social, environmental, macro goals and strategies, the process and cycles of providing inputs, and selling livestock products. The decision tree was drawn using the findings of similar studies and the opinions of provincial experts in this industry. The data collection tool is a questionnaire for pairwise comparisons of decision tree criteria and sub-criteria. To determine the weight of the criteria and sub-criteria included in the decision tree, the opinions of 10 experts in this field in Guilan province were collected and analyzed using the Fuzzy Hierarchy Process (FAHP). Fuzzy set theory is a mathematical theory designed to model the ambiguity of processes related to human knowledge. The decision maker can freely choose the range of desired values. Also, the uncertain judgment of the expert can be expressed by a fuzzy number. In this method, fuzzy numbers are used for the pairwise comparison of options, and the decision maker can express the pairwise comparisons of the elements of each level in the form of triangular fuzzy numbers. The decision tree for this research has five main criteria including institutional, environmental, social and cultural, structural, and economic factors, and 31 different sub-criteria. FAHP is a systematic method that uses the concepts of fuzzy set theory and hierarchical structure analysis. The calculated weights are a suitable basis for prioritizing the main obstacles and problems in the sustainable animal husbandry industry development of Guilan province. Modeling and obtaining the results were done in the MATLAB software.

The results of the research showed that from the point of view of experts, institutional and economic obstacles with the weights of 29.71% and 19.23%, respectively, are considered to be the most important obstacles to the development of sustainable animal husbandry in Guilan province. On the other hand, the sub-criteria of low attention to the animal husbandry sector in the provincial policies from the institutional criterion, the inappropriateness of the materials used, considering the weather conditions from the environmental criterion, the low status and job position of animal husbandry from the social and cultural criterion, the lack of high-yielding breeds consistent with the conditions of the region from the structural criterion, and the lack of adequate insurance coverage from the economic criterion have the highest rank among the sub-criteria.

The obtained results indicated the high level of obstacles and problems for the development of sustainable animal husbandry in Guilan province, which requires the attention of policymakers and the development of a policy package that fits the priorities determined in this study.

Considering the climatic similarity of Iran's three northern provinces compared to the Netherlands, why does Iran have a low level of development in the agricultural sector? Can the Netherlands development model be used for the development of Iran's agricultural sector? The purpose of this research is to determine the level of development of the agricultural sector in the three northern provinces of Iran (Guilan, Mazandaran and Golestan) compare to the Netherlands. To achieve this goal, the MARCOS approach was used. The most important reason for using this method is more confidence and accuracy in solving multi-criteria decision problems. A method based on hierarchy and knowledge of conditions and limitations to solve business problems in the real world. The required statistics and information are obtained from agricultural statistics and databases such as the World Bank, the World Food and Agriculture Organization. The final results show the low level of development of Iran's three northern provinces compared to the Netherlands.this backwardness can be seen in: agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, mechanization, education and infrastructure sector. One of the most important reasons for the Netherlands success of is to use of advanced technologies and advanced greenhouses, including hydroponic agriculture, geothermal energy, artificial lighting technology, and hydroponics and aeronautics solutions. Therefore, Supporting the introduction of new technologies in the country can speed up the development of agricultural sector in Iran.

Extended Abstract
Introduction and

The high nutritional value and applications of oilseeds such as peanuts in the food industry have increased attention to the production status of these products. The Peanut is one of the valuable oilseeds, which is considered unique in terms of oil and protein percentage. Features, such as a short cultivation period, small investment, and suitable income generation for the villagers, the cultivation of this product is very attractive for farmers. Due to the climatic, geographical conditions, and long history in Guilan province, this activity has many capacities for development. The present research aim is to achieve the functional form of the correct production of peanut cultivation and the economic evaluation of the inputs used in the production process of this product.

The present research is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive survey in terms of research method. This research was conducted in Astana Ashrafieh city, the main hub of peanut production in Guilan province. The sample size was determined using Cochran's formula, equal to 119 people. The main tool for collecting information in this research is a questionnaire. After preparing the list of almond farmers in this city by using a simple random sampling method, the required data was collected. To determine the correct functional form, first, 5 Cobb-Douglas, Transcendental, Translog, Quadratic, and generalized Leontief functional forms were estimated, and finally, the generalized Leontief model was selected as the best model.

The amount of partial elongation showed that chemical pesticides have the greatest effect, and chemical fertilizers have the least effect on changes in peanut yield. Also, the results of fitting the Leontief function confirmed the finding that the amount of peanut production factors in Guilan province is within the second production area. The economic value of machinery inputs calculated as 491112 rials, labor force 122285 rials, chemical poisons 53742 rials and chemical fertilizers 29679 rials. The results showed that the estimated economic value for different production inputs is very different from the market value.

All four factors of production have a partial elasticity of less than one, which indicates that the amount of production factors used in working almonds is optimal and the almond farmers of Guilan province produce within the limits of the second district. Due to the significant production elasticity of machinery input, it is recommended that the development of mechanization in peanut farming is one of the policy priorities in this province.

The objective of this study was to estimate the recreational value of Chitgar forest park and the willingness to pay (WTP) of visitors to this park using the contingent valuation method (CVM). The questionnaire was used for data collection. The Cochran formula was applied to determine the required sample size for the survey. The random sampling method was used to survey. The double-bounded dichotomous choice approach was used to design the questionnaire. A logit regression model was used to estimate the relationship between WTP and explanatory variables. The results of the logit model showed that WTP had a significant negative relationship with the explanatory variables such as the respondent's age, household size, education level, and membership in non-governmental organizations (NGOs). In addition, results indicated that WTP had a positive relation with respondents' gender, marital status, and monthly household revenue as the explanatory variables. Results showed that the maximum expected WTP of visitors was 79630 IRRials. Furthermore, results showed that the total annual economic value of the recreation in Chitgar forest park was 38.9 billion IRRials. The results of this study can help decision-makers to enhance the quality of Chitgar forest park, develop tourism, increase the number of visitors, and generate revenue for the park.

Water and soil are two valuable natural resources, which, need high attenstion respect to protect against destruction or pollution. Various methods and techniques reduce the process of degradation and pollution of water and soil, which are generally common in water and soil conservation measures (WSCM). In this study, for the first time in Iran, the factors influencing the formation of initial trust in order to adopt soil and water conservation measures among paddy farmers located in the Lasht-e-Nesha district, located in northern Iran, were investigated.

Since the existence of any kind of relationship between two individuals or legal entities requires the existence of trust, we used the Initial Trust Model (ITM) as an independent conceptual model. The variables used in this study are firm reputation, propensity to trust, perceived structural assurance, performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and age and farm size. To evaluate the conceptual model (Because most of this research is composed of attitudinal components) and the mentioned variables, we used structural equation modeling (SEM) and SMART-PLS3 software.

The variable Effort expectancy (EE) was found to have the greatest impact among the variables included in the conceptual model of this study.

 The article suggests that responsible institutions in the field of agriculture hold conferences and gatherings in rural areas with the presence of soil and water experts and paddy farmers in order to further clarify the efficiency and effectiveness of WSCM.

Water scarcity and drought have challenged the prosperity and development of the agricultural sector, food security and stability of rural settlements. In recent years, the reduction of Sefidroud river inflow to Guilan province, climate change and water demand increase have led to water scarcity in the rural areas and agricultural sector of this province. In the present study, the factors affecting the adaptation of the agriculture sector of Shirkoh village in Guilan province to water scarcity were investigated. In this regard, a comprehensive decision tree was designed with five main criteria and 37 sub-criteria. The results of the analysis of the opinions of 15 experts in the form of pairwise comparisons using the fuzzy hierarchical analysis approach showed that the main criterion of "technical knowledge of the user" with a relative weight of 33.1% is the most important in the adaptation of the agriculture sector of the sample village with water scarcity. Also, the "economic" and "income diversity" criteria are in the next position with relative weight of 25.4 and 19.3 percent, respectively. The three sub-criteria "Development of awareness and information of farmers in times of crisis", "Explanation of adaptation strategies according to the level and understanding of local people" and "Using the advanced irrigation system" that are related to the main criterion "Technical knowledge of the user" with a total relative weight of 44.7% have the greatest effect on the adaptation of the agriculture sector of the studied area. Also, two sub-criteria "Employment in various agricultural activities" and "Development of activities related to tourism" have more than 75% relative weight among the sub-criteria of “income diversity”. The findings of this research have provided a suitable platform for identifying strategies to adapt water scarcity in the agriculture sector of Shirkoh village and formulating a policy package.

Population growth around the world and rising water demand in most parts of the world have caused many problems in distributing and allocating water resources in different sectors of drinking, industry and agriculture. Ardebil Plain has a shortage of water due to its cold and dry climate in providing water consumption of agriculture. One of the ways that can some extent solve this problem is comprehensive water management, which is an important economic method and values ​​can be balanced between supply and water demand. In this study, the production function was used to determine the economic value of water in the production of potato and alfalfa products. The results showed that the average final production of irrigation water input for potato and alfalfa product was 0.459 and 0.25, with economic value of 11486.86 and 2759.4 Rials per cubic meter respectively. Also, the highest amount of water consumption in potato and alfalfa production was obtained by 14400 cubic meters and 10,000 cubic meters, respectively, and average water consumption, respectively, was 12.03 and 6786.52 cubic meters, respectively. As a result, by informing farmers about the consequences of unnecessary harvesting of water resources and reforming agricultural water prices based on the ultimate value of production, the loss and unnecessary consumption of water in the agricultural sector can be prevented.

In recent years, unnecessary exploitation of water resources, especially groundwater resources, droughts, lack of protection in the use of water resources, population growth, etc. has led to water input as one of the most important. The most limiting factors of development should play a role in the agricultural sector. One of the ways that can some extent solve this problem is comprehensive water management, which is an important economic method and values can be balanced between supply and water demand. In this study, the production function method was used to determine the economic value of water in the production of wheat and barley products. EXCEL and SPSS software were used to analyze the data. The obtained results showed that the average amount of final production of irrigation water input for wheat and barley crop is equal to 0.240 and 0.268, respectively, with economic value of 3223.3 and 2813 Rials per cubic meter. Also, the highest water consumption in wheat and barley production was equal to 5200 cubic meters and 3100 cubic meters, respectively, and the average water consumption was equal to 4604.56 and 2793.7 cubic meters, respectively. Due to the fact that the final value of water production is more than the cost of irrigation water supply, if the price of agricultural water is not corrected, it will lead to improper harvesting and use of water resources. To prevent this, it is better to set the price of agricultural water based on the final value of production.

The present study considers the factors affecting the use of medicinal plants. Requested data sets were obtained from 200 urban households in Rasht city. The research tool was a researcher-made questionnaire that its face validity was confirmed by experts and its reliability was also evaluated (Cronbach's alpha coefficient is 0.806). After analyzing the correlation of factors affecting the consumption behavior of medicinal plants, in order to examine the simultaneous effect of explanatory variables on the consumption behavior of medicinal plants, the probit model was used. The most frequent treatment of the disease with medicine plants occurred in the age group of 18-24 years old and the most frequent used medicine plants are Pennyroyal (6.5%), Thyme (4.5%) and Mint (4%). The results of the probit model showed that the belief in the effectiveness of medicine plants, the history of treatment with medicine plants in the household and knowing the valid supply center location of medicine plants have significant effects on the consumption of medical plants in the urban household of Rasht.

Since conventional foods can have different negative effects on human health and cause a variety of diseases, including cancer, the use of functional foods is highly recommended. In this study, the attitudinal factors affecting the acceptance of functional dairy foods (FDF) by urban consumers in Rasht (Guilan province, northern Iran) were investigated. Data were obtained from 223 households in Rasht City. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to investigate the effects of the general purchasing component as well as those of benefits of FDF, need of functional dairy foods, confidence in functional dairy foods, safety of functional dairy foods, health consciousness and healthy lifestyle, and willingness to buy FDF. The results show that the components of attitude towards healthy lifestyle and the general component of purchasing were the most effective factors in determining the acceptance of FDF by the households of Rasht City. The designed model explains 79.5 percent of the variation in willingness to use FDF. Given the benefits of consuming these products in preventing diseases and reducing health costs, public investments in awareness raising campaigns are needed to promote healthy lifestyle among urban consumers and increase the acceptance of FDF in Iran.

Drought and water scarcity in Iran is a climatic reality, and given the increasing need of different sectors for water, the problem of water scarcity in the coming years threatens the sustainability of cultivating some strategic crops with high water requirement. Rice cultivation requires high irrigation and is susceptible to water stress, so the best way to save water is to improve its water productivity. In this regard, in the present study, the estimation of rice water productivity indices was done in four major rice producing provinces of the country, including: Guilan, Mazandaran, Khuzestan, and Fars provinces. This study uses cross-sectional data from 2014-2015 rice production cost plan of Ministry of Jihad-e-Agriculture collected by cluster sampling from each province's farmers and estimated water requirement through remote sensing to calculate water productivity indices. The results showed that Mazandaran and Guilan provinces had the highest water productivity (yield/water requirement) with average of 0.99 and 0.88 kg/m3, respectively, Fars and Khuzestan provinces were in third and fourth places with averages of 0.65 and 0.52 kg/m3, respectively. The results showed that the highest net benefit of water consumption were in Guilan and Mazandaran provinces with averages of 9310 and 6590 Rials/m3, respectively. According to the results of this study, it is recommended to limit rice cultivation in Khuzestan and Fars provinces, especially in years with water deficiency.

Considering the important role of rural cooperatives in sustainable rural development, Evaluating the efficiency and performance of these organizations plays an important role in the decision making of planners and managers.The main purpose of this study is to investigating the profit efficiency of rural cooperative and its Effective Factors in Guilan Province using stochastic frontier function production method and the behavioral profit model. The statistical population of the present study was 110 active rural cooperatives in Guilan province in 2017 and the sampling method was census. The results showed the average of profit efficiency of rural cooperatives in Guilan province is 63%. Also, the results of estimating the profit function showed the current capital and costs related to the activities of these cooperatives have a direct and significant relationship with frontier profit. In addition, investigating the effective factors on profit inefficiency of rural cooperatives showed the duration of activity of these cooperatives, second job, manager's wage and management Experience have a positive and significant effect on profit inefficiency. On the other hand, the number of shareholders, number of villages, cooperative distance to city, establishment of cooperative in the center of province, education of manager and the number of training courses for cooperative managers have a negative and significant effect on profit inefficiency of rural cooperatives in Guilan province

Paying attention to the development chain, which also includes the supply chain and the value chain; is essential to preserve, revive, and develop traditional products. In this regard, awareness of the importance and position of traditional products such as woolen products and provide solutions to boost production and their presence in domestic and foreign markets, can be helpful. The main goal of this study was to determine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) of the production and supply chain of woolen products in Rezvanshahr County. Research data were collected based on face-to-face interviews with 30 local experts in 2018 through the available sampling method. Using the SWOT matrix, a strategy was developed for the production and supply chain of woolen products in this county. The results showed that the strategic position of production and supply chain of woolen products in Rezvanshahr County was in the first place. Being located in this area, so-called invasive units (SO), a strategy entitled the development chain (revitalization and maintenance in the first stage and development of the production and supply chain of woolen products in Rezvanshahr Couty in the next stage) was suggested.

Expansions of distribution and sales networks as well as diversification of domestic suppliers and diversified supply methods and also, price fluctuations make purchasing process complex and cost management necessary. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the financial performance of rural cooperatives network of Guilan province after implementation of centralized agricultural purchase and sale plan. This research is applied in terms of purpose, descriptive-analytical in terms of research method and the documentary method of data collection is also used. In order to fulfill the research objectives, the financial information of 91 cooperative units was studied and analyzed over a seven-year period from 2011 to 2016. The research methodology is a post-event type (using past information). Due to the panel nature of the data, panel regression and Eviews software were used for statistical analysis. The results showed that the ratio of debt to asset or financial leverage, size of cooperative, cooperative loans, and dummy variable for mentioned plan implementation had an indirect (negative) effect on cooperative ROE during the understudy period. Meanwhile, the negative effect of leverage, size and loans was statistically significant at the five, one and one percent levels, respectively. Also, during the study period, cooperative capital, cooperative sales, cooperative current ratio and cooperative futures ratio had a direct (positive) and statistically significant effect on ROE at one percent level.

Ecotourism as a branch of the tourism industry accounts for approximately 27 percent of international travel and, if properly managed, can lead to local employment, indigenous development opportunities and the preservation of the natural environment. The purpose of this project is to investigate the financial characteristics of the plan to build and rent 2 wooden structure suites in the forest areas of Masal. 8 Scenarios Using Market Interest Rate (60 percent), Interest Rate on Investment Deposits and Bonds (15 percent, 18 percent, 19 percent, 21percent) Social Discount Rate (5.12 percent, 7.2 percent) and time preference rate (2.38 percent) and 3 suite occupancy rate scenarios (60 percent, 70 percent and 80 percent) were designed. In this study, we computed net present value financial (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR), profitability index (PI), cost-benefit (B / C), payback period (PBP) and accounting return of rate (ARR) was evaluated. The results showed that at 60 percent interest rate at no occupation rate and at 15 percent and 18 percent interest rate at 60 percent occupancy rate, the plan had no economic justification. At other interest rates at all occupancy rates, the project is financially justified. Reducing interest rates by banks and other relevant bodies, as well as holding promotional courses in rural areas, can make a significant contribution to the prosperity of the ecotourism business. Also, by introducing the ecotourism plan and how to set it up in the villages, entrepreneurship can be done and job creation in rural areas will be helped.

In Iran, about 70% of agricultural crops are obtained through irrigation and the share of irrigation has been increasing since 1960. Given the growing trend in the world's population and to meet the water demand of other sectors, the share of water in the agricultural sector should be adjusted by improving water productivity. In Iran, the average water productivity is lower than that of the developed countries. In Ardebil plain, due to the decrease of groundwater resources and the decrease of rainfalls over the past 30 years, it is necessary to manage the water productivity and to reduce water consumption properly. The purpose of this study was to compare water productivity indices for major crops in Ardabil plain. In this study, the sample size was determined using Cochran's and Bartlett's et al. relationships, and the required information was collected by questionnaire. At first, 50 questionnaires were distributed among experts in agriculture. After assuring the validity and reliability of the questionnaire, 1046 questionnaires were distributed among the farmers in Ardabil plain. Results of water productivity (CPD index) showed that potato crop had the highest water productivity of 2.95 kg m-3 and rapeseed crop had the lowest water productivity of 0.67 kg m-3. Furthermore, potato (6093 Tomans) and barley (505 Tomans) had the highest and the lowest net profit per cubic meter of irrigation water, respectively. Based on the results, it is suggested that strategic crops such as wheat and rapeseed should be cultivated in order to reduce import level and facilitate the export mechanism for crops such as potatoes.

One of the major problems in agriculture in Guilan province is land use change. The change of use of agricultural lands in this province annually removes part of the fertile lands from the production cycle. The main purpose of this study is to identify the factors which affects the change of use of agricultural lands in the village of Belgor. The present study is applied in terms of purpose and has a descriptive -analytical nature. Survey was used to collect information. The statistical sample of the study include local experts of the village and n=50 people were selected. The research instrument is a research-made questionnaire whose formal validity was confirmed by experts and its reliability was confirmed by pre-test and Alpha Cronbach (0.86) coefficient. The factor analysis technique was used for analyzing data through SPSS software. The results of factor analysis determined four elements as the most important factors affecting land use change including ; the governing Factor , the cause of life problems in the village, economic Factor and environmental Factor. These four factors identified 66.57% of the agricultural land use change factor. According to the results, the most important driving force in changing the use of agricultural lands in the village of Belgor is the governing Factor. By focusing on this issue, amending and enacting new laws can prevent the upward trend of lands use change in this village.

Rice production is the main activity of agricultural economy in Guilan province. Rice is sensible to water deficit and its occurrence results in yield penalty. The present study estimated the economic value of rice irrigation water in Guilan province to determine the value of this scarce input in this province. To determine the economic value of irrigation water, the production function approach and cross-sectional data of 2014-2015 from 544 paddy fields were analyzed using cluster sampling method in the province. The data used include the amount of different inputs, the amount of yield, the cost of inputs, and the value of yield. Field data were prepared from three approaches including: eliminating outliers and extreme observations (the first approach) based on box plot, use of yield-input equation for selecting data set (the second approach), and selecting field data based on Agricultural-Jihad Organization standard pattern of paddy input-yield levels in different regions of Guilan province (the third approach). The results showed that the average economic values per cubic meter of irrigation water in paddy fields of Guilan province were 15240, 17280, and 17240 Rials, respectively.

Due to the importance of canola cultivation as a second crop, the present study was aimed to appraisal of financial indices and affecting variables on acceptance of canola cultivation as second crop in paddy fields of Guilan province, Iran, in 2018-2019 crop year. This study was a causal-descriptive study and a researcher-made questionnaire was used to collect data. A total of 150 farmers from the states level were studied as sample. Validity of the questionnaire was obtained from a panel of experts and its reliability was assessed by Cronbach's alpha and its value was calculated 0.87. The results of appraisal of financial indices showed that canola cultivation for Guilan rice farmers in the present conditions is less financially justified. The results of regression analysis to investigate the factors affecting the acceptance of rice farmers for canola cultivation showed that participation in extension training classes, average canola income, age of farmer and history of canola cultivation in total explain 84% of the changes in the dependent variable. Based on the results of exploratory factor analysis, barriers and limitations of canola cultivation were categorized into three factors from the perspective of rice farmers in province, problems with planting and maintenance of canola, post-harvest problems of canola and problems regarding economic conditions, climatic conditions, land conditions and insurance of canola cultivation conditions. In general, the results of this study showed that by stablishing higher quality extensional-educational classes according to the needs of farmers, effective communication between actors and the establishing canola processing factories, it is possible to eliminate barriers to canola cultivation as a second crop in paddy fields of Guilan province.

Given the importance of knowledge-based firms in the agricultural sector, this paper aimed to identify barriers hindering companies from becoming knowledge-based in the dominant competitive and dynamic environment. To this end, using a qualitative approach, in-depth interviews were conducted to collect data from 38 experts and managers in agricultural companies working in Alborz Science and Technology Park  Isfahan, Hamedan, and Tehran University. The main criterion for determining the sample size was to reach the theoretical saturation. All respondents were selected using a theoretical and purposeful sampling method. Data coding and analysis procedures were completed in three stages. According to the results of the study, five main internal and external elements were identified: market inefficiency, governance-administrative barriers, inefficient union or organization, lack of skills and professionalism, and the internal inefficiency of the company.

Main purpose of this study was to survey comparative study of the attitudes of rural people and dehyaran in relation to dehrari’s activities in hadi plan. The research method is descriptive and analytical approach. This study consisted of two groups (rural people and dehyaran). The population of dehyaran was 100 individuals and rural people was 303 that by Cochran formula selected randomly. The main tool of data collection was questiounire. The evaluate of reliability questionnaire obtained 0.86 with Cronbach's alpha. The results showed that the charactristics of rural people and Dehyaran were significant correlation with participation in relation to dehrari’s activities in hadi plan. The attitudes of rural people and dehyaran were significant correlation with social aspect and physical expension aspect in relation to dehrari’s activities in hadi plan but no significant correlation with economic aspects.

Rural tourism development can bring opportunities to rural communities such as economic growth, socio-cultural development, quality of life improvement and preservation of natural, cultural and environmental resources. So, identifying talented villages and planning for tourism development in these areas is essential. In this study, villages with tourism attractions in Lahijan County of Guilan province were studied and ranked based on 30 indices in eight general categories using information collected from management and planning organization of Guilan Province in 2018. In order to determine the weights of the understudy indices, the views of 10 experts, were analyzed using analytic hierarchy process and fuzzy analytic hierarchy process. Then, in order to prioritize the 10 selected villages of Lahijan County, additive ratio assessment, weighted aggregated sum product assessment and combined compromise solution, were used. The results of the criteria weighting showed that the criteria of natural features of the village and the economic criteria had the highest and the lowest importance, respectively. The results of three ranking methods showed that Sheikhanvar village with the tourism attractions of Sheikh-Zahed Guilani tomb and Sheikhanvar cave ranked first among all other villages. Development of tourism infrastructures in tourism target villages of Lahijan County based on the priority presented in this study can improve the tourism sector's contribution to the economy of Lahijan County.