فصلنامه اقتصاد کشاورزی و توسعه
پیاپی 112 (زمستان 1399)

This study aimed at analyzing the demand for meat to achieve a measure of Iranian net seller households. For this purpose, using an almost ideal demand system (AIDS), considering the endowment income effect in the Slutsky equation, the compensatory own-price elasticities were calculated. A comparison of the compensatory elasticity calculated with and without endowment income effect showed a low endowment income effect for these households because of the low difference between compensatory elasticities. But for the rural households, the compensatory elasticity calculated through Slutsky's new equation indicated that the endowment income effect in the rural households was higher than that of the urban households. The compensatory elasticities calculated with Slutsky's new equation for poultry meat showed that 58 percent of the urban households and 18 percent of the rural households were the net buyers and also, 42 percent and 82 percent of these households were the net sellers, respectively. According to the results, all the urban households were net buyers for fish and the number of rural households known as the net sellers of this type of meat was more than that of its net demanders. Also, 84 percent of the urban households and 10 percent of the rural households were the net buyers of red meat. On the other hand, the number of households in higher-income groups that were the net buyers of red and fish meat and the net sellers of poultry was added. Finally, it was recommended the net sales evaluation for other food groups to achieve more accurate results in policy analysis.

In Iran, many shrimp breeding farms were forced to be shut down due to their numerous problems. Therefore, this study aimed at investigating the effective internal and external factors along with assessing the production strategies of shrimp farming in Khuzestan province of the country. For this purpose, it identified alternative strategies using SWOT matrix and internal-external (IE) matrix and examined the identified strategies using a quantitative strategic planning matrix (QSPM) followed by prioritizing the alternative strategies according to the criteria via ELECTRE III. The study results showed that the strengths were dominate over the weaknesses and the opportunities were more than the threats in shrimp farming of the province; however, there was a long distance between the current status and the potential for the development. So, the aggressive strategies were recognized as the most suitable strategies. Also, according to the results of QSPM and ELECTRE III methods, the following strategies were found to be superior to the other strategic alternatives: marketing for healthy shrimp of the region, increasing the area of shrimp farms for enhancing production capacity, removing the barriers to shrimp export and its development, and increasing the production in unit area through the use of aeration and feeding devices and modern methods of harvesting; therefore, it was recommended that the developed strategies could be implemented step by step.

Assessment of the different strategies implemented in agricultural sector makes it possible to recognize the shortcomings of national development process. Therefore, this study aimed at assessing the priority and effectiveness of two strategies including water productivity promotion (WPP) and comprehensive development of the agricultural sector (CDA) in the first to fifth Iranian development programs in Qazvin province of Iran. The required data were collected through archival research, meta-analysis and case study. The statistical population the field study included the experts and specialists, in the agricultural sector of the province, who were selected through purposive sampling. The results of the SWOT analysis conducted during 2019-2020 showed that in both WPP and CDA sub-sectors, weaknesses had a higher priority than strengths; also, threats were ranked higher than opportunities. Furthermore, the research findings indicated the great importance and medium effectiveness of the strategies such as planning to increase water transfer efficiency, agricultural water resources management, increased production and reduced costs, aligned agricultural activities with sustainable development, increased agricultural sector’s share in monitory and capital markets, and increased livelihood security of producers. Finally, determining standards for qualitative water productivity, participatory planning and developing educational programs and extension services were recommended to enhance the productivity of water resources; in addition, continuous monitoring and evaluation of development processes, investigating development barriers and considering effective solutions such as smart agriculture and multifunctional agriculture might lead to CDA in the development programs.

Organic farming is considered as one of the most important alternative agricultural systems for the production of healthy food without any chemicals. Thus, this study aimed at estimating the consumers’ willingness to pay for using the organic oranges by applying Choice Experiment (CE) method. The required data were collected through a designed and completed questionnaire in a random sampling method in Sari city of Iran. The results of the conditional logit model indicated that the consumers were willing to pay 32546.7 IR rials equal to 1.30 times more than the base price for the organic oranges; in addition, they were willing to pay for the label's organic feature more than the quality improvement of the environment. Similarly, increased awareness and income of consumers had a positive and significant effect on the willingness to pay for the organic oranges. Therefore, organizing the mechanism associated with the certification standard products for the organic products and supplying the organic products in appropriate packages to the market could be necessary for the public trust of these products.

The process of guarantee of quality and evaluation of advancement of programs or effectiveness evaluation of progresses based on pre-set indicators is called ‘accreditation’. The accreditation program was run by Agricultural Engineering Research Institute (AERI) as one of the twenty research institutes affiliated to Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO) of Ministry of Agriculture-Jahad (MAJ) in Iran. This institute is involved in four fields of ‘Irrigation and Drainage’, ‘Food Engineering and Post-harvest’, ‘Agricultural Machinery and Mechanization’ and ‘Greenhouse’. Thus, five working groups including ‘Missions and Objectives’, ‘Human Resources’, ‘Research’, ‘Education and Extension’ and ‘Budget and Credit’ were established and the tables of objectives and indicators, evaluation criteria, measurement indices, and achievement criteria were determined; then, six specialized questionnaires relevant to each working group (one questionnaire for each factor and two questionnaires for ‘Education and Extension’ factor) at the national level for 2014-15 activity years of the institute were given to the respondents and institute. The collected data were analyzed based on the Likert scale. The results indicated that the situation of the AERI status was satisfactory in the ‘Human Resources’, ‘Research’ and ‘Education and Extension’ aspects and unsatisfactory in ‘Missions and Objectives’ and ‘Budget and Credits’ aspects; in addition, the overall assessment of the institute was relatively satisfactory. Therefore, by benefiting more from the intellectual, skilled and collaborative efforts of AERI's faculty members as well as the attention of higher authorities, it is likely to strengthen the institute's strengths and eliminate its weaknesses to achieve a higher quality level. This study may serve as a good model for the other research institutes.

Identifying the impact of consumption of different inputs on agricultural production helps to provide the right information to the policymaker. This study aimed at estimating the production function of two basic products (irrigated and rainfed wheat, and rice) using the three-dimensional spatial panel pattern (product, province and time). The required information was collected for the 30 provinces of Iran in the period from 2006 to 2018; and according to the selection criteria of the production functions, the translog function was selected as the superior function. Due to spatial effects and diagnostic tests, the spatial correlation model was evaluated as the optimal model. The study results showed that the elasticity of cultivated area, consumption of pesticides, tractors and combine harvesters to the production of irrigated wheat, rainfed wheat and rice products was positive and the elasticity of labor, consumption of seeds and fertilizers to the production of these products was negative; in addition, the elasticity of production inputs did not change significantly over time, and the trend of impacts of the production inputs on the production of the studied products was almost constant. Due to the surplus of labor in the production of these three products, the withdrawal of labor from production in this sector should be on the agenda and more investment should be made in investment factors such as combine harvesters and tractors to increase production so that the country can achieve self- sufficiency.

One of the effective activities in organization’s supply chain management is the design of an efficient and functional chain network structure that plays a critical and significant role in the achievement of organizations. The increase in environmental considerations and social rules necessitates the organizations to consider such sustainability concerns in designing their supply chains while setting the economic objectives. This study aimed at designing a mathematical programming/planning model by taking into account the sustainability criteria in closed-loop supply chain of dairy industries. The most important sustainability indexes were extracted in three economic, environmental and social aspects and the most effective indexes were initially selected by using DEMATEL technique. Then, a multi-objective mixed integrated planning model was presented for designing the sustainable supply chain, the objectives of which included the indexes obtained from DEMATEL. In the next stage, the model was solved in a metric L-P method by using GAMS software. Thus, a set of optimal Pareto solutions were obtained. Finally, the resultant model was implemented in Isfahan’s Pegah Dairy Industries Company in 2019, resulting in seven optimal Pareto solutions. Based on the solutions obtained, the lowest cost, the lowest consumption rate of water and the lowest consumption rate of energy were found to be about 70 million IR rials, 760 m3 and 963 MWs per month, respectively; and the highest employment opportunities was found to be 39,000 men-hours per month.

In the literature on flexibility, there is a consensus that manufacturing flexibility is a multidimensional concept with internal relations between its dimensions that can lead to increased manufacturing flexibility. The purpose of this study was to develop an internal model of manufacturing flexibility dimensions in the food industry based on interpretive structural modeling(ISM). This applied study was conducted in a descriptive modeling method. The model was developed using the reviews of 20 experts on manufacturing flexibility. The data were collected through a questionnaire for the interpretive structural modeling and the results were analyzed through the same modeling. The study findings showed that the developed internal model of manufacturing flexibility dimensions would help to understand the interaction between different dimensions affecting the flexibility and the consequences of their management. According to the results, process flexibility and labor flexibility were the most influential (leading) dimensions and product flexibility was the most influenced (dependent) dimension in the food industry. In addition, enhancing the efficiency of influencing factors might be suggested to improve the influenced factors and led to an increased flexibility in the food industries.

Sustainable investment in research and development programs necessitates documentary evidences about their benefits. Accordingly, this study aimed at estimating the potential economic benefits of date palm breeding researches as an important source of productivity enhancement at risk conditions. It was conducted in a pre-run economic surplus method based on the possibility of shifting the supply curve through introduction of high-yielding and compatible cultivars. With direct relationship between the relative displacement of the supply curve and increase in the risk parameter of yield changes, Monte Carlo simulation and the Latin Hypercube sampling method were used to estimate the potential benefits of breeding research impact in six provinces of Iran. Considering the risky nature of the variables, the range of changes in all evaluated indicators was determined. With respect to the positive results of the net present value of the economic benefits and the transfer of the supply curve to the right and the positive effect on total productivity, the effect of technical progress resulted from breeding research programs was confirmed. The internal rate of return was greater than the minimum rate of return on investment and the efficiency index was estimated in the range of 51.6 to 91 IR rials. The results of risk management analysis based on PMBOK standard confirmed the proper stability of the results which in turn emphasized the acceptable return on investment in date palm breeding research programs. Therefore, it was suggested that more supportive policies should be adopted in the field of date palm breeding research.‎