Providing Production and Employment Development Strategies in the Livestock Sub-Sector of Mazandaran Province

Livestock activity in Mazandaran province has a significant share in employment and production of related products in the country. To achieve economic development, identifying the challenges and potentials for progress in this sector are important factors. The purpose of this study is to analyze the resources, activities and institutions of Mazandaran province with an economic approach to strengthen production and employment and find a suitable strategy to increase the employment and production of livestock in Mazandaran province.

in this study, by considering the production capabilities of livestock products in Mazandaran province, and using a SWOT analysis based on the AHP approach, the problems, and opportunities in the livestock sub-sector in Mazandaran province were identified and examined. To extract pairwise comparisons of internal and external factors, 15 experienced experts in the livestock subdivision of the Agricultural Jihad Organization and Departments of Mazandaran Province were interviewed in 2018. Finally, using the Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM) approach, strategies for developing this subsector were prioritized. Excel and GAMS software were used to estimate the results.

The results of SWOT analysis in the analysis of internal and external factors showed that to develop the livestock sub-sector in Mazandaran province, aggressive strategies can be useful. Also, the results of prioritizing strategies through the QSPM approach showed that according to the aggressive strategies in the livestock sub-sector, "export development and entry into global markets", "product and market development", " Creating facilities for the export of Caspian Sea littoral states " and " Modified breeds of livestock to increase production " with scores of 6.467, 6.147, 5.442 and 4.947, respectively, can be considered as strategies for developing production and employment in the livestock sub-sector of Mazandaran province .

According to the results of internal and external factors in SWOT analysis, the optimal strategy in livestock activity in Mazandaran province is the aggressive strategy of SO.  According to the results of this study, strategies such as development and promotion of traditional livestock to semi-industrial and industrial, reducing mediation and intermediation and regulating market by collecting accurate statistics and information sources, Modifying breeds of livestock, supporting exports especially exports to Caspian Sea littoral states, improving the quality and standard of processed products for sale in regional and trans-regional markets, recognizing the needs of target markets and Such cases are suggested.