مجله پژوهش های ترویج و آموزش کشاورزی
سال سیزدهم شماره 4 (پیاپی 52، زمستان 1399)

The purpose of the present study is to recognize and explain the incentive and deterrent factors of agricultural agents’ skill development in Iran, using grounded theory. In this study, in order to gather data, a detailed interview was conducted on 18 top agricultural agents. The main criterion to determine the sample size was to achieve theoretical saturation point. All the persons of the studied sample size were selected through a purposeful approach and snowball sampling method. Coding and analyzing the data were executed during three stages and finally, incentive and deterrent factors of agricultural agents’ skill development were determined. According to the results of this research, incentive factors of skill development, including procedural and structural design, precise determination of duties, authorities and the scope of performances, providing grounds, updating the program, bridging the gaps, evaluating the institutionalization and integrity of the program, and institution building and procedural and structural reconsideration, are procedural and deterrent factors of skill development, including policy, partnership, educational, human resources, support, infrastructure, environmental-organizational, psychological and supervisory factors. 

Food security is one of the main conditions for the realization of national security and one of important functions of agricultural development. Therefore, the aim of this study is the study of the impact of agricultural development and other macroeconomic variables on food security and its sub-indicators (access to food, economic ability to buy food, and food health) in 64 developing countries. For this purpose, the panel data methods, and the data of developing countries in the period 1996-2016 are been used. The results show that agricultural development (the increase in agricultural value added) enhances food security through improving access to food. The GDP have a positive effect on food security so that all three dimensions of food security improved by increasing income. Rising prices will reduce food security by reducing access to food and reducing purchasing power.The urbanization has different effects on the different dimensions of food security but overall reduces food security. 

The main objective of this research was modeling the factors affecting rural households’ food security in Zanjan County. The statistical population of the current research was 25864 rural household heads in Zanjan County which based on Bartlett et al. (2001) formula, 353 of them were selected using a two-stage sampling method. A questionnaire was used for data collection. The face validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by a panel of experts and as well as the construct validity and the reliability of the questionnaire were obtained after making necessary corrections. The collected data were analyzed using SPSSWin22 and Smart PLS3 software. The descriptive results of the research showed that most of the surveyed respondents (more than two thirds) were in severe food insecurity situation. Moreover, the results of structural equation modeling revealed that each of five factors of economic, policy-regulatory, educational-information, family and geographical had positive and significant effects on rural household heads’ food security level and explained about 57.9 percent of variances in the dependent variable. However, the relationship between social factors and the food security level was not significant.

Capacity development of agricultural products value chain can increase agricultural productivity and incomes. This requires updated knowledge and innovations. Farmers in developing countries face various challenges in the process of pre, during, and post-production of agricultural products. This study examined the challenges of the grape production value chain in the West Azerbaijan Province. This study used a qualitative approach through the grounded theory methodology. Data were collected through semi-structured face-to-face interviews with the Agricultural Jihad Organization speceilaists; agricultural extension agents; researchers from the provincial Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center; and grape producers in the West Azerbaijan Province, who were selected through the purposeful sampling technique. The qualitative data analysis was conducted using MAXQDA software version 12. The main challenges in the pre, during and post-production phases were related to institutional, social, human and financial issues, natural crises, lack of knowledge, farming systems challenges, and physical, technological and infrastructural obstacles.

Today, achieving food security is far more difficult than in previous decades, despite the growing climate change, the increasing population of the world, and the degradation of nature's environmental capacity to produce food. Food literacy as an emerging concept has been proposed a viable way to achieve food security and is a promising approach to healthy and proper nutrition for society, as it emphasizes the essential aspects of food, including skill, health, and environmental protection. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between dimensions and factors affecting food literacy among postgraduate students of Shiraz University. According to the research findings, the total means of students studied was at a desirable level in terms of food literacy, but in terms of factors such as nutrition style and environmental literacy at a low level and in terms of environmental concerns at very low level. The study found that there was no difference between students in terms of food literacy and different levels of household income and major. But married students had higher levels of food literacy than single students. The results of the causal relationship test in the form of path analysis test showed that among the variables included in the path analysis, environmental literacy (0.43) and environmental concern (0.29) were the most influential in terms of food literacy and the use of media and information resources (-0.06) showed the least impacts. Based on the results, some recommendation have been made to improve food literacy.

Increased mortality and morbidity of humans due to unsafe use of chemical pesticides are the most serious occupational hazards faced by farmers in developing countries. As such, The purpose of this research was to investigation of factors affecting farmers’ excessive use of application pesticides and identify barriers to farmers’ usage of self-protective behavioure about the use of chemical pesticides in Zanjan province. The statistical population of this study consisted of the thematic experts in Zanjan province of which 20 persons were selected using the purposive sampling method. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. The software of MAXQDA 12 was used to analyze the data. The results of the study showed that the main factors affecting the farmers’ excessive use of application pesticides were cognitive-informational weakness, educational-extensional services weakness, Characteristic of chemical pest control methods, supportive weakness and personal factors. Additionally, the results of the study indicated that the variables Lack of attention of the government and relevant organizations to farmers' health, health culture weakness among farmers, economic factors, personal factors, information weakness and Individual protection equipment barriers effected self-protective behaviors of farmers in the use of pesticides.