Evaluating the Effect of Drought on the Economic Status and Livelihood of Rural Households in Collective Operation Units: A Case Study of Fasa County of Iran

This study aimed at evaluating the impact of drought on the economic status and livelihood of the rural households in collective operation units (cooperatives) in Fasa county of Iran. The effects of drought on the employment status, production performance, production costs and satisfaction with income were formulated within four hypotheses. A descriptive-analytical research method was used and the study population included 248 joint cooperatives of the county, with all the supervisors of the units being surveyed using the complete enumeration method. The required data were collected through a self-designed questionnaire. The hypotheses were tested using Wilcoxon statistic. The results showed that drought had a negative effect on the livelihood of rural households who were the members of these cooperatives. The Wilcoxon statistic values for all dimensions at an error level smaller than 0.05 indicated a significant difference between the rural people's livelihoods before and after the drought .