مجله اقتصاد و توسعه کشاورزی
سال سی و ششم شماره 1 (پیاپی 54، بهار 1401)

Rice is a very important food product in providing national food security for the Iranian families. There are different types of rice in Iran that are selected and consumed by consumers. Consumers are looking for more desirable features for consumption. The average annual consumption of Iranian rice in Iran is about 1.33 million tons, while it is 1.30 million tons for foreign rice. One of the most important key factors in the success of producers is to pay attention to the preferences and tastes of consumers. Any change in the product and service should be made taking into account the definition of quality from the perspective of the consumer and in accordance with their preferences and tastes. Existence of foreign rice, especially Indian and Pakistani rice in the domestic market due to the close quality with similar samples of Iranian production, low price, abundant advertising and proper packaging, have changed the preferences of Iranian consumers for rice, so, high consumption of imported rice have raised concerns about creating a kind of loyalty to foreign products. The quality and variety of Iranian products can be improved by knowing the tastes and desires of consumers led to increase per capita consumption of Iranian products relative to its similar foreign types and raise farmers’ incomes. Therefore, the present study aimed to identify and prioritize the factors affecting consumer preferences in the selection of Iranian and foreign rice in Mashhad city.

Data of 384 rice consumers in Mashhad city were collected using a questionnaire design and surveys sampling. In the qualitative section, after identifying related factors, the views of experts were examined through semi-structured interviews and the seven main factors include product appearance, quality, health, price, packaging, distribution and promotion were identified in the form of 20 variables (sub-factor). In the inferential analysis section, seven main factors were ranked using structural equations and Friedman test.

The results showed that quality, health, product appearance, packaging, distribution, price and promotion had the greatest impact on the consumers choice for Iranian and foreign rice, respectively. All rice consumers chose rice to consume, which first of all has a pleasant aroma both before and after cooking, and also does not have small pieces of rice at the time of purchase and has a suitable taste after cooking. Also, rice health is the second component that consumers pay attention to, they choose rice that is sure it is organic as well as being free of toxins and fertilizers. The grain appearance of the product include grain length, post-cooking appearance and its color at the time of purchase is located in third rank. The next rank is related to product packaging including packaging type (bulk or package), package appearance and listed information on the package. Distribution of rice products is located in fifth rank, which is divided into store location and access to the store. The final rankings were related to price and advertising such as the type of media, public relations and encouragement to buy the product. Post-cooking taste, purity, post-cooking aroma, aroma and smell at the time of purchase, post-cooking texture of rice, and choice of rice type by the citizens of Mashhad city have a negative and significant relationship, respectively. In other words, those who consume Iranian rice pay more attention to these variables in their selection than those who consume foreign rice. In choosing rice, the type of packaging and its size are not the first priorities of buyers, but it plays a significant role in the marketing. Based on our results, if Iranian and foreign rice are at the same price, consumers tend to consume Iranian rice because of the pleasant aroma and taste. TV commercials cannot affect consumer choice, because rice is a product that must be seen by the consumer when buying and the decision to buy is made after checking the rice appearance.

Focusing on producing a healthy product, producing cultivars with better post-cooking appearance, eliminating government currency and removing foreign rice price bias, as well as focusing on quality instead of high cost on advertising can improve the level of rice production can enhancing consumer satisfaction as well as improving the situation of rice production and rural income and employment.

In recent years, climate change and global warming, by reducing rainfall and higher temperature, have increased the frequency and severity of drought and water scarcity in various parts of the world, including Iran. The study of the annual discharge of rivers located in Qarahsu basin (Golestan province) showed that this basin has also faced drought in recent years and since most of the water required of Miankaleh wetland is supplied from Qarahsu River, so Water abstraction for agricultural, urban and industrial uses will have a major impact on the ecosystem of Miankaleh wetland. Given that agriculture is the main economic activity in the Golestan province and also it is the largest consumer of water and food security providers in the region Therefore, reducing irrigation water consumption can provide the extra water needed to protect the wetland. In order to sustainable supply water required of Miankaleh wetland in Gorgan Gulf, and preventing to dry the wetland, and using area's capacity in food security, attending to water resources management is very important in Qarehsou river Basin and Gorgan Gulf (Miankaleh wetland).

In this paper, a hydro-economic river basin model was used to water optimal allocation of Qarehsou River among water users in the basin (including irrigation activities, urban, industrial, and fishery uses, and environment) and protecting the Miankaleh wetland ecosystem (Gorgan Gulf). The empirical river basin model includes three reduce forms of hydrological components, regional optimization components, and environmental components and can make the integrated linkage between hydrologic, economic, institutional, and environmental components. This model also simulates demand nodes' behavior under different drought scenarios. The linkage between the three model components allows a rigorous evaluation of the quantitative impacts of drought on water availability in the river basin under study, the effects on the users’ behaviors, and the private and social-economic benefits and costs of water use. The hydrological model of the river basin is based on the principles of water mass balance, which determine the volume of water availability in the different river reaches. This water available can be used for economic activities after taking into account the environmental restrictions for economic activities. In the economic component, the economic benefits of water demand are maximized by using water demand functions subject to technical and resource constraints. In the environmental component, we maximize the benefits that environmental characteristics provide for society and compare them with the benefits of other applications.

The results showed, in the current condition, the allocation and consumption of water have not been optimal between nodes in the Qarehsou river basin. In the normal water supply scenario, also total water sources decreased to protect Miankaleh wetland in suitable condition, but the area under cultivation of the most crops increases, which increases water resources consumption in this sector, and finally, the net benefits of the agriculture sector has grown positively. Also, by allocating 18 million cubic meters of water to the wetland, because of optimal water allocation, urban water consumption, and annual gross benefit increase, too. In drought conditions, because of water shortage due to climate change and reduction headwater and surface flows to preserve the wetland, water consumption reduced by all nodes, especially irrigation node. Agricultures can prevent from reducing excessive of their income by changing in cultivation pattern, deficit planting crops with less water, etc. Under droughtconditions and water scarcity, although the amount of water available is reduced to all applicant nodes compared to baseline conditions, but it improves the economic benefits of stakeholders, especially the environment sector.Increasing groundwater extraction and decreasing surface water (due to drought and wetland water supply from headwater flow), although Qarehsou river basin has faced water scarcity problem, due to the optimal distribution of water between water demand nodes based on the economic-hydrological model used by changing the cultivation pattern and the use of drought-tolerant crops, the amount of water entering the Miankaleh wetland has increased in normal and drought scenarios and as a result has increased the gross environmental benefits of Qarehsou basin. Therefore, it is recommended to protect the Miankaleh wetland and increase its ecological function, reduce the water allocated value to irrigation sector, and to increase the farmers economy efficiency, optimal cultivation pattern, and applying deficit irrigation strategies promote by agricultural jihad experts in province, and in drought conditions is used suitable strategies for drought to improve water resources management.

Our country is among regions facing water scarcity as a large area of Iran is located in arid and semi-arid climates. So, comparing the annual average rainfall with annual mean annual precipitation on the planet, the rainfall in Iran is less than one-third of the the world, in addition, the amount of rainfall and the area in which the agricultural main water user are located, does not match.The average annual rainfall in the world is about 850 mm and for Iran is about 250 mm, which is 40% less than the annual rainfall in Asia and approximately 33% less than the annual average of the world. The province of Hamedan has an area of 19493 square kilometers, located in the west of Iran between 33 degrees and 59 minutes to 35 degrees and 44 minutes north latitude, 47 degrees 47 minutes and 49 degrees, and 30 minutes east along the meridian of Greenwich.This province area consists of four plains including bahar, Kabotrahang, Razan and Qahavand. The water catchment area of Hamedan-Bahar plain, also known as Siminrood, is located on the northern slopes of Alvand altitudes with an area of 2,243 square kilometers. The plain is 880 km2 and the surface area of the main aquifer is 468 km2 (Fig. 1).Figure 1- Location of Hamedan-Bahar Plain and its Main Aquifer AreaThis plain, based on climatic divisions, is located in a cold semisolid climate and has a cool, mountainous climate. The ban on the development of exploitation of groundwater in the Hamedan-Bahar plain has been applied since the year 1992 due to the negative balance and the susceptibility of supplying drinking water in the cities of Hamedan, Bahar, Laljin.Around, 330 of the 609 plains in the country have been declared forbidden due to excessive perceptions. Hamedan-Bahar plain has been faced with a serious problem of water shortages due to excessive withdrawal of groundwater and negative water balance and the expansion of the area under irrigated production, as the annual rate of groundwater loss in this plain is 1 meter.The main objectives of this research are to estimate the economic value of groundwater in the agricultural sector of Hamedan-Bahar plain and to determine the optimal cropping pattern in the studied area using the GAMS programming model and mathematical programming.Eshraqi and colleague (7) on "Estimating the economic value of water in wheat production in Gorgan," have surveyed the demanders using a production function approach in 2012-2013. The results show that the economic value of water was estimated at 1564.5 Rials per cubic meter of water. Zeratakish (23), on "The economic valuation of water in the agricultural sector with an environmental approach in the Lichter plain", used a multidisciplinary mathematical programming approach. The economic value of water with a limit of 50, 60 and 70 percent was determined as 250, 1500 and 3050 rials, respectively.Mohammad Ayattha Watto and Amin William (2016) addressed a positive mathematical planning approach for estimating and valuing groundwater in Pakistan. Their results indicate that limiting groundwater extraction forces farmers to irrigate the demand for water. Azavara et al. (2012), conducted a study using the PMP method to evaluate the economic irrigation water in three California regions. The analysis of the results showed that the final economic value of water is at least 2.5 times the price paid by the users.

In this study, a dynamic mathematical programming model was used to evaluate the economics of groundwater in the agricultural sector. The general form of the model is as follows:The objective function (equation 1) of the dynamic programming model is to maximize the gross returns of the crop activities of the region.In this equation NPVGM is the return of the program from the agricultural activities of the study area, p_i the price of the product i, y_ijs of the product i produced with the irrigation system j in area s (kg/ha), c_ijs, the variable cost of production of product i with irrigation system j In area s per hectare, cw water consumption cost, cfer fertility cost, CE fertilizer cost, cpes cost of various chemical pesticides and co cost of other inputs including power, machinery. In this regard, X_ijs is the crop area i produced by irrigation method j in s, w, water input, fertilizer input chemical fertilizer, e energy input, pes input chemical pesticide, and other inputs. The limitation of production inputs, including water, land, labor, and chemical inputs and the market, is generally referred to in equation (2) in which b_ijs is the technical coefficient of inputs and B_i is the amount of each of them. Equation (4) represents the cost function of water used for agricultural activity in which pw is the price or tariff of a unit of water, CWE_e The cost of extracting water from the surface of the earth and pumping and distributing it at the farm level per unit area (ha) and AW The amount of water consumed per hectare is from different crops.

As the Table 1 shows, products such as tomatoes, watermelons, sugar beets and chickpeas have been eliminated from the cultivar pattern, the high water requirement, the energy required for these products and the low price, have led to an increase in farmers production costs if this pattern is implemented in the area, so cultivation of these products have not been economical for farmers in the region. The cultivation of potato and alfalfa products that have high water demand are significant in the pattern, which can be due to the economic benefits and high yield of these two products in the region. Cultivation of cobbler products, such as cucumber, is low in optimal cropping patterns. Low-crop cultivation such as corn, rapeseed, garlic and pumpkin in the optimal pattern is due to market constraints in the region and low yields of these products (corn, rapeseed, garlic and pumpkin).

 In the modern world, there is interdependence between the economies of different countries and it is difficult to find a country that has a closed economy. In other words, all the economies of the world are interconnected, but the degree of openness of the economy varies from country to country. One of the ways to reach global markets in transition countries is to develop the export of non-oil products, especially agricultural products, which cannot be achieved without considering the market structure of exportable commodities. Due to the high share of the country in the production of this product versus its small share in the export of this product and on the other hand the lack of comprehensive research on determining appropriate target markets and active presence in it, the present study seeks to examine the comparative advantage , The structure of the export market and finally the prioritization of the target countries of Iranian tomato export using numerical taxonomy (by prioritizing the target countries of Iran based on a set of indicators) to provide scientific solutions to producers of this product to identify and select the appropriate target market.

 Considering the high potential of the country in the field of tomato production and export, the present study was conducted with the aim of examining the comparative advantage, determining the structure of the export market and prioritizing the export target markets of this product in Iran. The study period of this research is 2001-2018. For this purpose, the present study has examined the business model and structure of the export market of tomatoes in Iran and the world using the revealed comparative advantage, symmetric revealed comparative advantage, concentration ratios and Herfindahl-Hirschman index. After introducing the indicators of comparative advantage, the market structure index will be examined. Market structure reflects the organizational characteristics of the market, including the concentration of sellers, buyers' concentration, entry conditions and the degree of homogeneity of goods, which can be identified by identifying the nature of pricing, market competition and market type between competition and complete monopoly. Then, in order to prioritize the target markets of Iranian tomatoes, the method of numerical taxonomy analysis was used, which can be used to rank the regions in terms of comparative advantages and potentials and capacities. In this method, first each set is transformed into a homogeneous set based on the desired indicators and then prioritization will be done based on the expressed indicators.

 The study of tomato export trends in recent years shows that there is a growth in the export value of this product, but in contrast to the export advantage of Iranian tomatoes during the period under review has been accompanied by many fluctuations and this indicates a competitive risk for tomato exporters in the country. Therefore, adopting policies for permanent monitoring and policy-making to improve the level of competitiveness of Iranian exporters, such as raising the quality of packaging, advertising to introduce the product in new and developed markets, as well as setting preferential tariffs with other countries seems necessary. The study of the structure of the Iranian tomato market showed that during the period under review, the structure of the Iranian tomato export market was not diverse and focused on a few specific countries, which caused instability and a decrease in foreign currency income from tomato exports. The bargaining power of Iran in the world market of this product has decreased, which has ultimately been to the detriment of Iran and the benefit of importing countries. Therefore, it is recommended in the field of trade of this product by identifying new and emerging export target markets and shipping commodities to these countries, as well as increasing the number of export target markets and bringing Iran's export market closer to a competitive state, to prevent Iran's tomato exports to concentrate on a few limited and traditional markets (dominant firm).

 In this study, using the method of numerical taxonomy analysis as an efficient method, we tried to identify Iran's export target markets during the period 2001-2009. Finally, according to the ten indicators of market attractiveness, potential target markets for future exports of Iranian tomatoes were selected. The results of prioritizing the target markets of Iranian tomatoes showed that out of 25 countries importing Iranian tomatoes, 23 countries were among the target markets for exporting Iranian tomatoes. Among the major actual markets of Iranian tomatoes, which account for the largest imports of this product from Iran, only 4 countries, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, UAE and Armenia are among the 10 countries with high priority, and the rest of the importers of tomatoes from Iran is considered as a target market with low priority. Therefore, in the export of tomatoes, a policy should be adopted that shifts the main focus to high-priority countries to penetrate them with full awareness of all the conditions of the target markets, especially the tastes of customers.

 Organic agricultural products play an important role in the food basket of the community health development. Many researchers have proven that organic agricultural products are better and safer for human health, and unhealthy products are a threat for society. Increasing health problems and food-related diseases have made consumers to give more attention to these products purchase. There has been an increase in organic products popularity due to their health benefits and positive environmental impact.Shahdone store is one of the natural, complete and organic products stores in the country that serves online and in person with the aim of providing healthy, complete and natural raw materials. Healthy nutrition and modification of consumption pattern towards healthy, whole and natural products is one of the main goals of this collection. The focus of the company is on online sales and trust plays an important role in this type of purchase. To improve the business and introduction of this type of trades in Iran, word of mouth, especially electronic word of mouth, are very important and since this study examines the antecedents of intention to use electronic word of mouth in purchasing organic agricultural products at Shahdone, it will be beneficial for the company. The study focused on organic agricultural products, which are useful for the development of Shahdone and similar companies operating in the field of agriculture, to understand consumers' intentions and attitudes toward word of mouth. Also, for people in the community whose health is important, this research can be effective in promoting organic products. Therefore, the present study investigates the impact of social capital dimensions and trust on social media, attitude toward electronic word of mouth and intention to use electronic word of mouth in purchasing organic products.

The statistical population of this study consisted of all consumers of organic agricultural products in Shahdone stores, who used the products of this company during the collection of research data in February of 2018. The population was considered unlimited and 476 samples were selected using available sampling method. To collect data, a questionnaire containing 42 questions was designed by reviewing the literature on research variables. Also, two questions were compiled to measure demographic variables (education, gender). To measure and confirm the validity of the questionnaire, content validity, construct validity were examined. In order to evaluate the content validity, a number of questionnaires were distributed among university professors and premiers. Sensibility and comprehensibility of the questions and the appropriateness of the variables were examined. Experts opinions were used to improve questionnaire questions. For construct validity, factor analysis was used in the form of measurement model. Cronbach alpha coefficient was used to assess the reliability of the questionnaire. According Cronbach alpha coefficient, the questionnaire has a satisfactory reliability. SPSS and LISREL statistical software were used to analyses the research data and test hypotheses.

 The findings of this study showed that attitudes toward electronic word of mouth are influential on the intention to use electronic word of mouth in purchasing organic agricultural products, on the other hand, there are some antecedents before obtaining attitudes toward electronic word of mouth which include; social capital in social media and trust in social media.

 The results of the first and third hypotheses of the study indicate that voluntary social media participation has an impact on competency and behavioral stability, but the second hypothesis was not confirmed. Social media engagement when it comes to the sense of altruism and volunteering to give information, it gradually builds the ability to influence people, so having people on social media and through social media can impact others. The results of hypotheses fourth, fifth and sixth indicate that adherence to social commitments in social media affects the competence of influencers, the honesty of reputable people and their behavioral stability. People who are committed to social commitment, including indicators of doing the right thing, observing fairness, performing social duties, and a sense of responsibility to the community can help and influence others as a worthy person. Hypothesis seventh states that collaboration in social media affects its competence. The eighth and ninth hypotheses were not confirmed. People who help others, and have expertise in organic products, can play a vital role in people health. The results of the tenth and eleventh hypotheses of ethical-cultural interactions in social media influenced the competence and honesty of reputable people, but the twelfth hypothesis of ethical-cultural interactions in social media did not support behavioral stability. Expanding the culture of using healthy products will allow more people to participate in organic products. One of the problems with organic products is the exaggeration of the benefits of organic products, which should be minimized by cultural planning for these products. Hypothesis thirteenth states that common values in social media influence the competence of influencer and fourteenth and fifteenth hypotheses were not confirmed. Having commonalities and closeness of ideas makes others more important to people. When people are close to each other, they are more concerned about others and try to pay more attention to the consequences of their suggestions. The results of hypotheses sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth indicate that influential competence, honesty of reputable people, and respect for behavioral stability in social media influence attitudes toward electronic word of mouth. Hypothesis nineteenth states that attitude towards electronic word of mouth influenced intention to use electronic word of mouth in purchasing organic agricultural products, this hypothesis was confirmed. The emerging attitude towards electronic word of mouth led to intention to use electronic word of mouth. Organic farming, or acceptance of information by the individual, before purchase.

 Dietary diversity is a feature of healthy diets. This is because essential nutrients are not present in one type of food at the same time, rather, they are found in a diet consisting of several nutrients. However, in recent years, the food tastes of Iranian families have shifted to high-calorie and non-nutritional value foods, which has increased the number of patients with non-communicable diseases in the country. The choice and acceptance of different diets depends on environmental, economic, socio-cultural and psychological factors.

 Since ensuring health and food security is one of the strategic goals of the country 20-year vision document, the present study evaluates the dietary diversity of households and its effective factors in Tehran province. To achieve this goal, the raw information of household expenditure-income in 2020 has been used. In the present study, the Berry dietary diversity index (BI) was used to quantify the dietary diversity variable and the order logit model was used to investigate and evaluate the effect of demographic, economic and social variables on it.

 The results showed that only 23.2% of Tehran households have high dietary diversity and 76.8% of households have low or medium dietary diversity. Based on the results, the variables of head household age, place of residence, working hours of household head and household income level has a positive (direct) association and in contrast, the variables of head of household literacy, household size and employment status of head of household in a negative (inverse) direction affect the level of dietary diversity of households in Tehran province.

 The food diversity of households in Tehran province is very low. If the food price level is low and stable, increasing incomes can lead consumers to diversify their food baskets and move from consuming low-value cereals and root and tuber products to consuming high-nutrition foods such as meat, dairy, and fruits and vegetables. In this regard, a review of the experience of many European, Latin American and Asian countries shows that stability in food prices along with cash aid and targeted food packages can increase consumption and food diversity of households and food security in poor households, especially women and children. Families living in Tehran province, which have a larger population, have less food diversity. As the household dimension increases, the minimum food needs increase; this reduces the volume and quality of food available to the household and leads to food insecurity. In the current situation, the country is struggling with economic problems caused by sanctions, inflation, unemployment. Continuation of this, along with lack of effective support for families, can deprive families of the ability and facilities to have more children due to food insecurity. Accordingly, the correct and complete design and implementation of incentive policies and support for large families is necessary. Finally, the role and importance of education and literacy of households in their food diversity is very high. In this regard, responsible organizations can play an important role in obtaining, processing and understanding nutrition information and how to access credible information sources through culture and specialized and general training in food literacy.

 Along with the increasing importance of environmental issues among consumers, recognizing the factors affecting the intention to buy green products and using them to develop green marketing campaigns and communication strategies is very effective. Proceeding through time and the rise of green communications, the focus of manufacturers is on buying behavior and the various factors that cause these types of behaviors, however, when the consumer expresses his desire to protect the environment, again this trend has little effect on their buying behavior. Of course, in some cases, there is evidence that people who are more concerned about environmental issues need to buy more green products to meet their needs, so that consumers are only concerned when they report that these behaviors do not involve personal expenses or significant changes and sacrifices in their lifestyle, and they have more information about the value of the environment effects on their lives. In addition, there is a weak relationship between attitude and practice, which is in contrast to the findings of other studies, which indicates a strong link between these variables. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the effect of general social attitude on buying behavior with the mediating role of green consumption values and receptivity of green communication.

The statistical population of this study was all students of different levels in Mashhad. The sample size was obtained based on Morgan table and using a non-random method available to 384 people. The data collection tool in this study is the standard questionnaire of Dupacho et al. (2018). To evaluate the reliability of the questionnaire, Cronbach alpha coefficient was used. The values obtained for Cronbach alpha are 0.897 of buying behavior, 0.817 of public participation attitudes, 0.828 of green consumption values, and 0.883 of green communication acceptance confirmation of the reliability of the questionnaire. The validity of the questionnaire was also obtained by using confirmatory factor analysis, which showed that the validity of the questionnaire was acceptable. In addition, divergent validity was confirmed to analyze the data using structural equation method using smart pls and SPSS 22 software.

 Among the 384 people who participated in the study, 186 women (48.4%) and 198 men (51.6%) were members of the statistical sample. To facilitate the age of the respondents, we have categorized them into four age groups. 165 people, ie 43.0% of people are between 22 and 26 years old. 137 people, ie 35.7% of people are between 27 and 31 years old. 50 people, ie 13.0% of people are between 32 and 36 years old, and 32 people, ie 8.3% of people are more than 36 years old. General social attitudes affect the green consumption values of students in Mashhad. Green consumption values affect the buying behavior of students in Mashhad. Green consumption values affect the receptivity of green communication by students in Mashhad. Receptivity of green communications effects the shopping behavior of students in Mashhad. General social attitudes through green consumption values affect the buying behavior of students in Mashhad. General social attitudes through green consumption values affect the acceptance of green communication by students in Mashhad. Green consumption values through the acceptance of green communications affect the buying behavior of students in Mashhad.

 The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of general social attitudes on buying behavior with the mediating role of green consumption values and receptivity of green communication among students in Mashhad. In general, it can be concluded that general social attitudes directly and indirectly affect the buying behavior of students in Mashhad. In fact, general attitudes that stem from people's social participation and create values for the consumer that play an important role in the behavior and decisions they make when shopping. Consumer demand and purchase play important roles in production and development of green products and are effective in the development of agriculture in line with the environment. However, the effectiveness of communication in fostering environmental attitudes and values has a prominent role in consumer green buying behavior.