Designing a Mathematical Programming Model to Optimize the FGT Poverty Index in Rural Areas of Behbahan

One of the most important factors that improve most indicators of poverty is increasing the income of the study population. In the agricultural sector, this can be achieved through proper resource management and appropriate cultivation pattern. The current study presents a mathematical programming model that aims to optimize the Foster, Greer and Turbek (FGT) poverty index by generating higher income by providing an optimal cultivation model. To evaluate the ability of the proposed model, rural areas of Sardasht, Langirat suburbs, Dodangeh and Tashan were selected from Behbahan city. To calculate the poverty line, the method of daily caloric requirement, which is estimated from the nutritional performance matrix, was used. The required data were collected through the Jihad Agricultural Service Centers of this city in the 2017-2018 crop year and the Statistics Center of Iran and analyzed by Excel and GAMS software. The results showed that in the proposed model, while profits increased by 10.47%, the area under wheat and alfalfa decreased and the area under watermelon and sugar beet increased. In this model, the amount of water consumed decreased by about 0.5%. Also, by averaging the FGT index in both current and optimal models, it was found that the numerical value of this index (the value of the objective function) in the whole city has decreased from 3.47 to 0.03. Therefore, the optimal model, while increasing farmers' incomes, has reduced poverty and also reduced the use of scarce water inputs. Therefore, promoting the optimal model obtained in this study is recommended by the Agricultural Jihad Organization.