Factors Developing Tobacco Marketing from the Perspective of Tobacco Producers: A Case Study of Boghmach Rural District in Chenaran County

Agricultural marketing starts from production planning and continues to the last step after harvest, i.e. selling and gaining customer satisfaction. The purpose of this study was to identify factors developing tobacco marketing, considering the specialization of tobacco cultivation in Boghmach Rural District, Chenaran County. The research is a descriptive-analytical one. The statistical population of the study were tobacco producers and market agents in Boghmach. Based on Cochran’s Formula, 110 people were selected as the sample. Through extensive documentary and field studies, 29 factors were identified as promoting tobacco marketing in Boghmach and then surveyed using a five-point Likert scale questionnaire. The identified factors were categorized under 9 main components (with 72.5% of the total variance), using exploratory factor analysis. These components include, respectively, high capability of tobacco producers (14.6% of the variance), ending the monopoly of tobacco company (11.8% of the variance), specialization in cultivation, production and processing of tobacco (10.9% of the variance), existence of foreign market suitable for tobacco (8.5% of the variance), existence of domestic market suitable for tobacco (6.5% of the variance), tobacco processing at the origin (5.8% of the variance), relative agency of tobacco producers in the market (5.5% of the variance), government supervision over tobacco market (4.7% of the variance), and the capacity required to expand tobacco activity (3.7% of the variance). The results of Grey Relational Analysis (GRA) showed that, in terms of tobacco marketing, Boghmach is the main center for tobacco production in Chenaran and Razavi Khorasan Province, and it is the starting point of tobacco marketing in the province. Considering the production of 80% of Razavi Khorasan tobacco in Boghmach and the specialization of cultivation, it is suggested that appropriate planning be done for better marketing in the country and abroad based on the factors identified.