Designing a Model for Technical Development of Greenhouses and Analyzing its' Influencing Factors: The Case of Pakdasht County

Present study aimed at designing a model for the technical development of greenhouses and analyzing its influencing factors through the survey of 1300 greenhouse owners in Pakdasht county. Based on the Cochran's formula, the sample size was estimated to be 150. To increase the accuracy of access to respondents, stratified random sampling technique with proportional assignment was employed. The face validity of researcher-developed questionnaire was confirmed by a panel of experts. Cronbach's alpha coefficient values for the variables ranged from 0.70 to 0.93, indicating acceptable reliability for the instrument. Partial least squares structural equation modeling using SmartPLS2 was used to validate the designed model. The results showed that the two factors of human capital and access to technical infrastructure were the most effective factors in the technical development process of greenhouses. The three variables market access, investment-credit, and cost-benefit in light of government support have been able to affect the level of technical development of greenhouses by improving the level of access to technical infrastructure. Educational-extensional programs and government support have also led to an increase in the level of human capital and, indirectly resulted in the technical development of greenhouses. Generally, the independent variables could account for 42 percent of the variance of greenhouses' technical development. Finally, it can be concluded that the development of technical infrastructure, human capital, market access, investment, extension programs, and appropriate government policies can lead to the technical development of the greenhouse.