Agricultural Economics
H. Fouladi; H. Amirnejad; S. Shirzadi Laskookalayeh
Abstract
IntroductionIn recent decades, the issue of climate change has become one of the global issues and has affected the agricultural sector. The continuation of agriculture regardless of the water shortage crisis has had an inappropriate effect on the sustainability and growth of this sector. On the other ...
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IntroductionIn recent decades, the issue of climate change has become one of the global issues and has affected the agricultural sector. The continuation of agriculture regardless of the water shortage crisis has had an inappropriate effect on the sustainability and growth of this sector. On the other hand, the destructive effect of excessive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides on water, soil, health of ecosystems, humans and other living beings is undeniable. For this reason, the void of using an efficient model that can provide all economic and environmental aspects at the same time was completely felt. The aim of this study was to provide an optimal cropping pattern using the integrated method of Goal and Grey planning. For this purpose, the farmers of the agronomy sub-sector of Tajan Basin were selected as the statistical population. In this regard, time series information was collected from the aggregation of the average data of 401 settlements located in this area during the years 2017-2021 from the annual reports of experts. Materials and MethodsThe Linear Programming (LP) Model quantifies an optimal way of integrating constraints to satisfy the objective function to optimize crop production and profits for irrigation farmers. To use LP, one must convert the problem into a mathematical model. To do this, an objective such as maximizing profit or minimizing losses is required. The model must also include decision variables that affect those objectives, and constraints that limit what user can do. Therefore, the LP Model is a single-objective method. Goal Programming (GP) is an extension of LP in which targets are specified for a set of constraints. GP is used to perform three types of analysis: Determining the required resources to achieve a desired set of objectives. Determining the degree of attainment of the goals with the available resources. Providing the best satisfying solution under a varying amount of resources and priorities of the goals. Thus, the GP model is a multi-objective method. The Grey system theory is identified as an effective methodology that can be used to solve uncertain problems with partially known information. Grey modelling approach uses accident data for estimating the model parameters. The model can reflect the dynamics, balance the conflicting the multidimensional targets of cropping patterns, and promoting the sustainable use of cultivated land. For achieving different goals in unstable economic and environmental conditions, we used a Goal-Grey model that was obtained from the integration of Goal programing and Grey Programing. The Goal-Grey model, by considering the uncertainty in the data, leads to overlap between the economic and environmental goals and provides the scope of cultivation for the selected products. Results and DiscussionBy estimating the Linear Programming (LP) Model, crops like wheat and canola are removed from the cropping pattern, while the cultivation areas for barley and high-yielding long-grain rice increase by 644% and 31%, respectively. In contrast, the cultivation areas for high-quality long-grain rice and maize decrease by 89% and 10%, respectively. Implementing this model boosts the gross profit of farmers in the Tajan region by 14% solely through adjusting the crop composition, without altering the current input levels. Additionally, the findings show that applying the LP Model results in fertilizer savings of 5%, 13%, and 10% for phosphate, nitrogen, and potash, respectively. The amount of herbicide and fungicide consumption in the LP Model is exactly equal to the current model of the region. However, the implementation of this model will lead to a 5% increase in the consumption of insecticides poison. The amount of irrigation water consumption in the LP Model was calculated to be 2% less than the current model of the region. In addition, the results indicate that by estimating the Goal-Grey Model, only canola is removed from the cropping pattern. Also, in order to achieve the defined goals in this study, the cultivation area of wheat and maize should be equal to 208 and 7356 hectares respectively. However, the flexibility of input usage enables adjustments to other crop cultivation areas, facilitating high-quality long-grain rice production on 970 to 18,157 hectares. Plus, the cultivation area of long-grain rice can vary from 7654 to 9995 hectares. In this model, barley can be removed from the crop composition like the linear pattern or cultivated on a maximum of 2553 hectares. The implementation of the Goal-Grey model will lead to a maximum 2% increase in the gross profit of the farmers of Tajan region compared to the current model of this region. Also, by implementing the Goal-Grey Model, on average, phosphate, nitrogen, and potash fertilizer consumption is saved by 16, 27, and 20 percent, respectively. In addition, with the implementation of the Goal-Grey Model, the consumption of agricultural pesticides will decrease from 733 to 355 thousand liters on average. ConclusionThe LP Model is designed based on current regional conditions; however, as a single-objective model with fixed parameters, it lacks the flexibility to offer an adaptable program for farmers during drought or wet periods or when inputs are limited. Findings indicate that under current conditions, there is excessive use of chemical inputs and irrigation water. By accounting for data uncertainty, the Goal-Gray model addresses these limitations, balancing economic and environmental objectives and defining a cultivation range for selected crops. Acknowledgement We are grateful to the experts of agronomy management and plant conservation management of Mazandaran Province Agricultural Jihad Organization and Sari City Agricultural Jihad Management who cooperated in data collection. This article is taken from the preliminary results of a doctoral dissertation with material and intellectual rights related to Sari Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University, which is gratefully acknowledged.
Agricultural Economics
Kh. Abdi Rokni; S. Shirzadi Laskookalayeh; H. Amirnejad
Abstract
IntroductionThe growing importance of energy resources in the formation and growth of economic processes, as well as the need to exploit these resources based on environmental considerations and sustainable economic development, the issue of energy saving as an important issue in all economic infrastructures, ...
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IntroductionThe growing importance of energy resources in the formation and growth of economic processes, as well as the need to exploit these resources based on environmental considerations and sustainable economic development, the issue of energy saving as an important issue in all economic infrastructures, including industry. Global warming, declining crop yields, climate change and acid rain are the result of fossil fuel consumption. Hence, in recent years, there has been a growing global emphasis on renewable energy across both developed and developing nations. The primary objective is to decrease reliance on conventional energy sources, mitigate environmental pollution, and attain sustainable energy practices. Materials and WaysIn the present study, a multi-objective mathematical planning model was designed, in which the optimal crop cultivation model in the southern grove area of Babol city, taking into account the maximum profit from the sale of crops, relying on expanding the use of renewable energy sources in the supply basket Irrigation water and reduction of fossil energy consumption used in irrigation water supply were determined. The objective functions of the study are in the form of two objectives: profit maximization and minimization of greenhouse gas emissions. The amount of profit considered in the present study is equal to the difference between income from crop production and total costs, including irrigation, planting and harvesting costs, seed costs, fertilizers and pesticides, and labor costs. The greenhouse gases considered in this study encompass CO2, N2O, and CH4, with the objective of minimizing their emissions for the determination of an optimal crop pattern. The study endeavors to resolve the proposed nonlinear multi-objective pattern utilizing the constraint epsilon method. Subsequently, employing the energy link indexes (E), the optimal solution is identified among the proposed alternatives through the TOPSIS multi-criteria decision model. The statistical population for this investigation comprises farmers in the southern forest area of Babol city. The analysis of results has been conducted using Matlab, Lingo, and Excel software. Results and DiscussionIn this study, a multi-objective model with objective functions of profit maximization and minimization of greenhouse gas emissions subject to energy, energy flow, water, fertilizer, and capital and land constraints using the method the constraint is resolved and eventually the study decision variables are obtained. In terms of recyclable energy, the model suggests that four types of Tarom rice, Shiroodi rice, soybean, and corn be grown with 0.40, 0.34, 0.14 and 0.12 ha / ha, respectively. As can be seen, in accordance with the outputs of the optimal model in terms of renewable energy, most of the cultivated land is allocated to Tarom and Shiroodi rice. The total amount of energy required in the optimal model in terms of renewable energy was 2518 kWh, of which fossil energy is 79% and solar energy is 21%. According to the calculations made in Equation 3, to provide 21% (518 kWh) of solar electricity required by the irrigation system in order to irrigate one hectare of the proposed model of the optimal model in the study area, a solar panel with a capacity of 0.22 kW will be required. The results of the model show that in terms of renewable energy, with the implementation of the proposed model, the profit of farmers in the region per hectare increases from 14776.21 to 14778.18 million rials compared to the situation of non-renewable energy in the entire growing season. In other words, in the current situation, people cultivate crops regardless of energy consumption and production costs (traditional method of rice production by local farmers), while by choosing the right model, the farmer's economic benefits can be increased by 0.013%. At the same time, it saved a significant amount of fossil energy consumption.The minimum emission target of the model in terms of renewable energy states that for the cultivation of 0.40 hectares of Tarom rice, 0.34 hectares of Shiroodi, 0.14 hectares of soybean and 0.12 hectares of corn, at the rate of 2836 kg equivalent to CO2 pollution Fertilizers, pesticides and fossil fuel consumption will be released, which is 9% less than the current situation where only fossil fuels are used to irrigate crops. ConclusionIn the present study, the interests of farmers were considered by considering the maximum profit from the sale of agricultural products by relying on the use of renewable energy sources in the energy basket of the agricultural sector (by reducing the fuel consumption of fossil energy sources used) in determining the cultivation pattern. Optimally calculated and compared with current conditions. The results show that the optimal model in terms of renewable energy, shows a more appropriate achievement of goals than in the absence of renewable energy. To this end, it is suggested that agricultural policy makers, by promoting the use of solar energy in irrigation and the use of this large capacity in the country, justify farmers to the potential benefits of solar energy (in the agricultural sector) and its widespread use, reduce current agricultural subsidies in the energy sector. Fossilization and subsidizing solar energy, encouraging the private sector to invest in solar projects can help power irrigation projects.
Agricultural Economics
H. Amirnejad; S. Hosseini
Abstract
IntroductionFlood is a phenomenon that occurs almost in most regions of the world and causes significant damage to human life and ecosystem. Forests are one of the necessary things to prevent damages caused by floods, but the conditions are not enough. Therefore, it is important to use an economic tool ...
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IntroductionFlood is a phenomenon that occurs almost in most regions of the world and causes significant damage to human life and ecosystem. Forests are one of the necessary things to prevent damages caused by floods, but the conditions are not enough. Therefore, it is important to use an economic tool to manage and protect the Hyrcanian forest ecosystem in order to reduce flood damage in the coming years. Currently, there are various tools in this field that must be carefully chosen and it is not possible to use one tool in all ecosystems of the world. Payment for forest ecosystem services (PES) is one of the economic tools of forest management and protection by providing direct incentives to stakeholders to improve its ecosystem functions and services. Therefore, in comparison with other market instruments of environmental protection such as environmental taxes which may cause a reduction in the production of various economic sectors and as a result reduce the income of producers and finally lose their motivation. The Payment for Forest Ecosystem Services (PES) program not only does not reduce income, but also increases income for the beneficiaries of forest ecosystem services and thus creates incentives. Payment for ecosystem services is a two-way transaction and is completely voluntary. In this transaction, there must be at least one buyer and one ecosystem service provider provided that the ecosystem service provider continues to offer that service. The logic of PES schemes is that the beneficiaries (people who benefit from ecosystem services) are asked to protect the providers of ecosystem services (such as public or private organizations) who work to protect, restore and natural ecosystem management is to pay for better management and protection of these ecosystems. This payment may take place at the local, national and global level. Studies show that among the various factors influencing the occurrence of floods, excessive exploitation of forests and changes in the use of forest lands are the main causes of floods. But few studies have been conducted on the role of PES plans to protect natural ecosystems to prevent natural hazards such as floods. Therefore, considering the importance and extraordinary value of natural forests in the region in reducing flood damage, the purpose of this study is to investigate the preferences of residents affected by recent floods in Mazandaran province in the form of payment for ecosystem services (PES) scheme and to identify the factors affecting the acceptance of PES scheme to reduce flood damage by conservation the Hyrcanian forests ecosystem using the choice modeling approach (Choice Experiment (CE) and the multinomial econometric model. The Choice Experiment is one of the methods of valuing stated preferences, which is very suitable for analyzing the importance of different features of a product or a policy.Materials and MethodsTo achieve this goal, the Choice Experiment method and multinomial logit econometric model were used. The features studied in this method include forest management, watershed management, land use management (preventing forest land use change), payment method, contract duration and payment amount (price). Also, the statistical population of the study includes the affected-floods residents in three parts of the center, east and west of Mazandaran province. Research data were obtained by field survey, random sampling and 110 choice experiment questionnaires in summer 2020. Socio-economic variables in the study include age, gender, job, education, PES awareness, expenses and income of the affected-floods residents.Results and ConclusionBased on the study results, the willingness to pay of households affected by floods for conserving the Hyrcanian forest ecosystem to reduce flooding through land use management is as follows: for changing the status quo, it is 36,140 Rial per month; for improvement status, it is 68,910 Rial per month. Additionally, for contract duration and payment method, the willingness to pay is 150,150 Rial per month. The study findings also indicate that affected-floods residents prefer to make cash payments in the long-term to conserve the forest ecosystem and mitigate flooding. Furthermore, when examining the impact of various socio-economic variables on the residents' willingness to pay, it was found that age, gender, education, expenses, income, and awareness of Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) have a direct positive effect on their willingness to pay. Considering these results, it is recommended that forest conservation programs in the Northern provinces place importance on the mentioned factors to encourage people's participation in forest conservation projects. This will facilitate the implementation of the PES scheme and enhance the success of forest conservation efforts.
Agricultural Economics
H. Amirnejad; A. Mehrjo; M.H. Eskandari Nasab
Abstract
In the second half of the twenty-first century, economic change, population growth and globalization were the main factors driving the deforestation in the South Asian countries. To identify the effects due to socio-economic factors affecting deforestation in such countries, this study applied the spatial ...
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In the second half of the twenty-first century, economic change, population growth and globalization were the main factors driving the deforestation in the South Asian countries. To identify the effects due to socio-economic factors affecting deforestation in such countries, this study applied the spatial econometrics model based on data from 18 selected countries for the period between 2005 and 2015. The spatial correlation tests were showing that ignoring the effects of spatial correlation cause bias in results. The results of the model also confirmed the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis for the selected countries with a turning point of $ 5,107. Our findings illustrated that increasing GDP per capita in neighbouring countries through interregional mobility of inputs of production will increase deforestation in the target country. The increase in the exchange rate in neighbouring countries due to the increase in imports of forest products and the non-cutting of domestic forest resources will reduce deforestation in the target country. Increased population density and unemployment in neighbouring countries due to reduced job opportunities and increased migration to the target country, followed by increased demand for food and increased land demand, led to increased deforestation in the target country. Finally, increasing the human development index variable has reduced deforestation in the target country. However, changing this variable in neighbouring countries has not affected the deforestation of the target country. Therefore, in a world with increasing economic growth, it is suggested that to prevent deforestation by improving the human development index, eradicating the problem of unemployment, and eradicating poverty redouble efforts. As the results of this study showed, the population had a direct and significant effect on deforestation in selected countries. Due to the increase in population growth in different years, it is recommended that the population issue be given more attention by looking at the requirements of sustainable development to reduce environmental degradation, mainly deforestation. Because according to the results of this study, the lack of rapid population growth reduces deforestation in selected countries.
Agricultural Economics
F. Mazraeh; H. Amirnejad; A. Nikouei
Abstract
IntroductionIn 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 ...
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IntroductionIn 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).Materials and MethodsIn 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.Results and DiscussionThe 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 drought conditions 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.
Agricultural Economics
H. Amirnejad; S.A. Hosseini-Yekani; S.M. Mojaverian; F. Kashiri Kolaei; M. Taslimi
Abstract
Introduction: The resistive economy, in the sense of managing the current situation in the country, minimizes the risks. In other words, establishment of the necessary institution in Iranian economy by using a set of policies, laws, and executive measures in such a way to minimize its risk against harmful ...
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Introduction: The resistive economy, in the sense of managing the current situation in the country, minimizes the risks. In other words, establishment of the necessary institution in Iranian economy by using a set of policies, laws, and executive measures in such a way to minimize its risk against harmful shocks and disturbances, especially foreign and international ones, would provide the ground for the country to achieve sustainable economic progress. One of the most important methods in this regard, in creating the infrastructure of a resistive economy, is development of the agricultural sector. In fact, due to the distinctive features of the agricultural sector, this sector can be considered as the driving force of the economy within the framework of the resistive economy. To achieve such an economy, the challenges and potentials facing this sector must be identified while determining optimal investment for the basic sectors. Due to the capabilities of agricultural production in Mazandaran province, in this study, for identifying the problems and opportunities in the subsectors of agriculture and horticulture, a type of SWOT analysis was used in which relative weights are calculated through a linear mathematical programming model. Finally, by using the QSPM approach, prioritization strategies were developed for each subsector.
Material and Methods: In the SWOT analysis, the AHP approach was used to extract the pairwise comparisons of internal and external factors from the opinions of the interviewed experts in the subsectors of agriculture and horticulture. SWOT analysis has been used to determine strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats, and the combination of linear programming. Therefore, AHP approach is used to calculate the weight for criteria and alternatives at each level. In this research, a two-step linear programming method has been used to calculate the priority vector. In the first step, according to the pairwise comparison matrix, a formulation that provides a consistency limit is used. In the second step, according to the compatibility limits obtained in the previous step, for calculating marginal weights of the criteria, another linear programming model is used. After calculating the relative weights of each of the components of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, as well as determining some strategies, using expert opinions, the QSPM approach has been used to prioritize strategies. For this purpose, the attractiveness coefficients of each strategy were extracted according to the Swot components and by multiplying the attractiveness coefficients by the relative weights, the total score for each Swot component was calculated for each strategy and finally with the total score of the Swot components, a total score for each strategy was calculated. Finally, Excel and GAMS software were used to estimate the results.
Results and Discussion: According to the results of SWOT analysis in the agriculture and horticulture sector, among the important strengths in Mazandaran province, this subsector can be ranked first in the production of various products, variety of climatic conditions and suitable water resources, the existence of fertile and suitable lands and variety of products. In contrast to the above strengths, weaknesses such as traditional and small units of exploitation, lack of guaranteed purchase and non-payment of debts on time by the government and cooperatives, low irrigation efficiency and low productivity of inputs (land, labor, etc.), lack of proper marketing system and the weak role of the government are some of important challenges in the subsectors of agriculture and horticulture in Mazandaran province. The opportunities facing the subsectors of agriculture and horticulture include the existence of ports and export terminals, existence of suitable fields for the construction of processing industries, improvement and establishment of fruit and vegetable terminals, and the existence of agricultural sub-graduates. The most important factors that threaten the activity of subsectors of agriculture and horticulture are related to the problems of financing and bank interest rates, land-use change and land trade, excessive import of agricultural and horticultural products, and small number of related processing industries. The results of prioritizing strategies through the QSPM approach also showed that according to aggressive strategies, in the subsectors of agriculture and horticulture, strategies like "Increased aggressive racial reform research ", "Establishment of fruit and vegetable export terminals" and "Development of processing industries", in the subsector of livestock strategies like "Export development and entry into global markets", "Product and market development", "Establishment of facilities for export to the Caspian littoral states" and "Improvement of livestock breeds to increase production" , and in the subsector of fisheries "Aquaculture Development", "Development of Fisheries Industry", "Private and public sector support and investment" and "Establishment of facilities for export to international markets" are among strategies for strengthening the economy of the province and the country that can be considered.
Conclusion: According to the results of this study, it is suggested that more attention in terms of capital support, and regional policies should be given to the subsectors of agriculture and horticulture in this situation. Also, appropriate measures should be taken to increase the productivity of the agricultural sector in line with the resistance economy. It is also suggested that solutions such as guaranteed purchase, providing facilities for small and job-creating projects, use of agricultural researchers and graduates for improving and implementing of racial reform research, support and development of processing industry of agricultural products, market development and increasing exports of agricultural products, should be used.
Agricultural Economics
M. Taslimi; H. Amirnejad; S.M. Mojaverian; H. Azadi
Abstract
Introduction: The final energy consumption per capita in Iran in the agricultural sector is 3.4, as well for household sector is 2, besides the commercial and public sectors are 1.6, and transportation and industry are 1.4 times the global average. This is due to low efficiency in operation, high energy ...
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Introduction: The final energy consumption per capita in Iran in the agricultural sector is 3.4, as well for household sector is 2, besides the commercial and public sectors are 1.6, and transportation and industry are 1.4 times the global average. This is due to low efficiency in operation, high energy consumption, as well as the use of energy goods and services. The use of renewable energy in the agricultural sector, while increasing the security of energy supply, will reduce global warming, stimulate economic growth, create jobs, and increase per capita income and social justice and environmental protection in all areas. The purpose of this study is to investigate farmers' preferences for using solar energy in Sari.Materials and Methods: The Choice Experiment methods allow researchers to focus on valuing final changes as multidimensional features rather than discrete changes. Choosing between options encourages respondents to examine their preferences in detail related to different management programs. The Choice Experiment test approach consists of several steps, which include designing the Choice Experiment test, determining the sample size and method of data collection, estimation process, and modeling the Choice Experiment test. Designing a Choice Experiment test consists of five important steps which are defining attributes, determining the relevant levels, conducting an experimental design, constructing Choice sets, and measuring preferences. After determining the criteria affecting the prioritization of renewable energy, liketechnical, environmental, economic, social, and political criteria, in order to investigate the willingness to Pay of Sari farmers, a test questionnaire was designed. The criteria obtained from the review of prioritization of renewable energy were considered as the attributes of the Choice Experiment and the price attribute was added to the above criteria. A total of six technical, economic, social, political, environmental, and price attributes were considered to investigate farmers' willingness to pay. In the review of the studies and the current situation, the levels of each of the attributes were determined. To determine the levels of price attribute, these points were considered; the price of agricultural electricity per kilowatt-hour is 383 Rials, which was approximately 400 Rials for the current situation.Results and Discussion: To investigate the farmers' preferences for using solar energy, 98 questionnaires of farmers in Sari were completed in September 2019. Each questionnaire included 8 choice set cards and each card included three options, based on which, the number of observations in Sari is equal to 2352 observations. The purpose of this study is to investigate the preferences of farmers in Sari for the use of solar energy. For this purpose, the Multinomial logit, the Random parameter logit, the latent class, and the Random parameter logit latent class are used. Based on the results of the Multinomial logit method, environmental and price attributes at the level of one percent and economic attribute at the level of five percent are statistically significant, but political, social, and technical attributes are not statistically significant. The Alternative-specific Constants (ASC) in the first and second options are not statistically significant. Based on the results of the Random Parameter Logit estimation method, environmental, economic and price attributes are statistically significant at the level of one percent. Technical, political, and social attributes are not statistically significant, which shows that farmers do not make a significant difference between these two attributes. The Alternative-specific Constants (ASC) are significant in the first option at the level of five percent and the second option at the level of one percent. The results of latent class estimation show that in the first class, environmental, economic, political, social, and price attributes are statistically significant at the level of one percent and technical attribute at the level of ten percent. The Alternative-specific Constants (ASC) are statistically significant at the level of one percent in the first class. In the second class, technical attribute at the level of five percent and environmental attribute at the level of ten percent are significant, besides other attributes in the second class are not statistically significant. The most sensitive class is the first class and farmers of the second class are considered the base class. The results obtained from the Bayesian and Akaike criteria of different classes showed that the two classes have the lowest values of BIC and AIC criteria and the class is appropriate. After determining the appropriate class, the model was estimated. The results of model estimation were calculated by the Latent Class Random Parameter logit method. In the first class, environmental attributes and price are significant at the level of one percent and economical attributes at the level of five percent. Also, the Alternative-specific Constants (ASC) is significant at the level of one percent, but, in the second class, the attributes are not statistically significant. Technical, environmental, economic, political, social, and price attributes, as well as the option of status quo or the Alternative-specific Constants (ASC) in the second class, do not affect farmers' utility due to the lack of statistical significance.Conclusion: A comparison of the results obtained from the four methods shows that the highest value of the estimated coefficient for environmental attributes was in the latent class method and the lowest value was in the multinomial logit method; Comparison of fitted methods shows that the highest Log-likelihood is related to the latent class random parameter logit method and the lowest value is related to the multinomial logit method. Accordingly, the highest value of Akaike and Bayesian criteria is related to the multinomial logit method and the lowest value is related to the latent class random parameter logit method which is better than other methods according to the good fit criterion.
Agricultural Economics
P. Tonakbar; H. Amirnejad; S. Shirzadi Laskookalayeh
Abstract
Introduction: Among the various available tools in the field of natural resources and environmental management, the payment for ecosystem services (PES) is one of the market-based methods that is considered worldwide to protect the environment and ecosystem. PES is an important method for effective management ...
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Introduction: Among the various available tools in the field of natural resources and environmental management, the payment for ecosystem services (PES) is one of the market-based methods that is considered worldwide to protect the environment and ecosystem. PES is an important method for effective management of natural resources and public goods and one of the tools for managing degraded ecosystems and related environmental and economic services. Considering that Sefidrood is considered as the most important and valuable source of agricultural water supply and aquatic environment in Guilan province, and also the water quality of this important river is in a bad and very bad condition, this study was conducted using PES economic tools through payments by rice consumers in Guilan province to rice farmers and thus encouraging them to take environmentally friendly measures (organic agriculture) to reduce pollution of the Sefidrood River.
Materials and Methods: This research was conducted using a choice experiment method. In our CE, each PES alternative is described by a set of attributes that include distribution of payments, contract duration, implementing organization, monitoring times, possibility to cancel and payments. First, to investigate the effect of different attributes of PES scheme on rice consumers' willingness to pay and their marginal utility, a conditional logit model was used to compare the results of random parameter logit model and latent class models with a base model. Then, the RPL and LC model was used to further investigate the invisible heterogeneity that exists in the behavior of respondents. The RPL model is an advanced model that allows attributes coefficients to change randomly among respondents. Therefore, instead of estimating a fixed coefficient for each attribute, two coefficients are estimated, which together describe the distribution of heterogeneous preferences of the respondents for this attribute.
Results and Discussion: To confirm the CL model, the independence of irrelevant alternatives assumption was performed using the Hausman-McFadden test. Given that the value of chi-square statistics has become large and significant, therefore, the CL model is not suitable for investigating the effect of attributes on consumer’s willingness to pay, and more advanced models should be used. For this reason, RPL and LC models are estimated. According to the results of the RPL model, the highest willingness to pay is related to the monitoring times therefor indicating that consumers are willing to pay 1347 Tomans for more monitoring. The amount of willingness to pay for the duration of contract and distribution of payments is equal to 1326 and 914 Tomans, respectively, which indicates if the contracts are short-time and also more payments are made to low-income rice farmers, the willingness to pay will increase to 1326 and 914 Tomans, respectively. Based on the results of the LC model, in the first class, except for the contract duration, all other attributes were not statistically significant. In the second class, the distribution of payments, the contract duration and the monitoring times with a positive sign and the implementing organization with a negative sign are significant. Class membership coefficients for organic rice consumers indicate that the likelihood of being in second class depends significantly on the respondents' age, gender, and level of education.
Conclusion: The results of RPL and LC models confirm the existence of heterogeneity in the preferences of organic rice consumers. Therefore, appropriate methods can be used to differentiate organic products and thus improve the utility of consuming these products. Consumers were also more inclined to have a short-time and high monitoring scheme, this result is not unexpected due to the novelty of the scheme. Therefore, it is recommended to start short-time schemes with high monitoring. Consumers also tended to make more payments to low-income rice farmers, so it is recommended that lower-income rice farmers be given priority in implementing the PES scheme. The results of both model showed that the distribution of payments and monitoring times had the highest priority for consumers in choosing the PES scheme, respectively. Therefore, in order to increase the participation of consumers in such schemes, it is recommended to include these attributes in the schemes. Also, although PES is not designed as a tool to reduce poverty, it can increase the incomes of low-income rice farmers and help their livelihoods. Given that such schemes have not yet been implemented in Iran, it is suggested that in order to increase consumer participation, various levels of attributes should be provided to the respondents.
Agricultural Economics
N. Heidari Zahiri; H. Amirnejad; S. Shirzadi Laskookalayeh
Abstract
Introduction:Water scarcity, improper management of water resources, excessive application of chemical inputs, and lack of proper cultivation patterns are present in agriculture. Lack of attention to these cases will inflict irreparable damage on the agricultural sector. Accordingly, attention to sustainable ...
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Introduction:Water scarcity, improper management of water resources, excessive application of chemical inputs, and lack of proper cultivation patterns are present in agriculture. Lack of attention to these cases will inflict irreparable damage on the agricultural sector. Accordingly, attention to sustainable agriculture, conservation of water resources and prevention of improper use of chemical fertilizers are essential to reduce environmental pollution. In many cases, there is agreement on the river basin scale as a suitable spatial scale for analysis of water resources management. Tajan Basin with area of about 4187 km2 is one of the important parts of Caspian Sea Basin. The Current status of water resources in Tajan basin due to decrease in river runoff, has doubled the focus on the basin's water resources management. Materials and Methods: In this study, with the help of positive mathematical planning and maximum entropy approach in GAMS, policies to reduce the use of chemical fertilizers and water in selecting the appropriate cultivation pattern for 2017 in the Tajan basin were reviewed. Within the model, the farmer maximizes the expected utility of their stochastic income, subject to resource and non-negativity constraints. To include both market and yields uncertainty, we calculated profit covariance matrices by using national averages for prices and yields for the 2018–2009 period. The resource constraints include land, water and fertilizer. Selected irrigated crops in the region include rice, wheat, rapeseed and corn. In the present study for simulating farmers' response, reduction scenarios including 5%, 10% and 15% of available water and fertilizer are considered. There are also two environmental sustainability index that are related to amount of the used fertilizer and water. The smaller the index is, the greater sustainability is provided in crop production. Results and Discussion: Calibration of PMP pattern with maximum entropy approach showed that there is no difference between the value of target function, inputs and cultivation level in the current situation and calibration pattern. In all water reduction scenarios, the total cultivation area decreased. The results indicate that the agriculture in the basin is vulnerable due to changes in available water. The 15% decrease in water resources causes a significant decrease of 15/903% of the cultivation area. Cultivation area under fertilizer reduction scenarios has been lower in comparison with water scenarios, and so reduces the used fertilizer and increases soil conservation and water stock. In reduction scenarios of water and fertilizer, land reallocation is reduced due to less reduction in expected utility of farmers. In water scarcity conditions and lack of fertilizer, rice and wheat crops have higher economic benefits per hectare than other crops. The sustainability index for used fertilizer in all reduction scenarios of water and fertilizer is lower than the current pattern. Also the index of the used water in the PMP model is lower than the baseline in the region that decrease was 0.018%, 0.144% and 0.319% at three levels of 5%, 10% and 15%, respectively. In the scenario of 15% reduction of fertilizer, land allocation and economic benefits decreased by 13.83% and 0.034%, respectively. However used fertilizer and water index improved to 1.348% and 0.319%, respectively. Therefore, improving the water and fertilizer application index has a higher priority than reducing the expected utility in the region. Conclusion: In the current cropping pattern, farmers do not pay attention to the environmental characteristics and sustainability of the region. While with the policies of reducing the quantity and price of chemical inputs and introducing different types of sustainability indicators, it is possible to develop a cultivation model. In addition to earning the necessary profit, it enables the optimal use of fertilizer and water inputs. Changing the behavior of farmers compared to the current pattern of input consumption requires strong motivation and reasons. Therefore, water quality tests and soil decomposition in the region, as well as providing appropriate formulas for optimal use of chemical fertilizers is needed. Extension services to increase people's awareness is a good solution for optimal use of inputs and increase the level of cultivation and farmers' profits.
S.S. Ahmadzadeh; H. Amirnejad; S.A. Hosseini Yekani
Abstract
Introduction: The overuse of fertilizers in recent years has led to the production of harmful agricultural products and environmental pollution. Studying the environmental efficiency of agricultural activities and transferring the results of these studies to farmers and making practical use of them is ...
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Introduction: The overuse of fertilizers in recent years has led to the production of harmful agricultural products and environmental pollution. Studying the environmental efficiency of agricultural activities and transferring the results of these studies to farmers and making practical use of them is one of the important strategies that can have a significant impact on the production of healthy products with less negative impacts on the environment. The main objective of this research is to measure the technical and environmental efficiency of rice farms in Guilan province. Previous studies in agriculture sector considered pesticides and fertilizers as undesirable inputs in the environmental model but considering undesirable outputs as inputs leads to an unbounded PPS, which is not rational from an economic perspective. So in this study, the nutrient surplus (nitrogen and phosphorus surplus) from rice fields, caused by overuse of chemical fertilizer, was considered as an undesirable product in the environmental model.
Materials and Methods: The presence of outliers in the dataset may bias efficiency estimates: this could make the results meaningless and misleading. The data cloud method is useful in identifying and removing outliers in the data, thus leading to more accurate efficiency estimates. Therefore, at first, farms that were identified as outliers were deleted from the sample. Then the nitrogen and phosphorus surplus were calculated by material balance condition and farms with negative or zero NS and PS were removed from sample, then the remaining farms were used to estimate the technical and environmental efficiency. To determine efficiency, the directional output distance function method was used. In this method, it is assumed that undesirable output is produced along with the desirable output and that means maximizing optimum output while reducing undesired output. The required data were collected by questionnaires from 427 Rice farmers.
Results and Discussion: The results indicated that the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus surplus in rice farms of Guilan province were 44.63 and 14.31 kg/ha, respectively. Therefore, if rice farmers continue to use current levels of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers, environmental problems caused by NS and PS would increase.
The average technical efficiency of farmers in constant and variable returns to scale is 59 and 69 percent, respectively. So, it is possible to improve the efficiency of rice farms. In other words, the technical efficiency of farms under assumption of CRS and VRS can be improved 41% and 31%, respectively, through increasing output. The average environmental efficiency was 52%, it indicates that environmental efficiency is low. So according to the directional nutrients efficiency measure, rice farmers can increase their rice production and reduce environmental pollution simultaneously.
Based on the results, environmental efficiency of farmers is lower than technical efficiency and there is a significant difference between the average efficiency with regard to nutrient surplus and without it, so if the nutrient is not considered in the model the efficiency score is estimated more than the actual value by 17%. The results also showed that almost 82% of these rice farmers are technically inefficient and 85% are environmentally inefficient. Spearman correlation coefficient between technical and environmental efficiency was 0.772. This indicated there is a positive relationship between these two kinds of efficiency and units with high technical efficiency also have high environmental efficiency.
Conclusion: One of the reasons for over usage of fertilizers and neglecting chemical fertilizer damages by farmers is that most farmers cultivate rice based on past experiences and they are more concerned with the economic aspect of production and not considering the external effects of increasing production methods. Lack of facilities and appropriate market for introducing and supplying healthy crops and the absence of appropriate agricultural policies are major obstacles to producing healthy crops that leads to continued usage of conventional production methods and the inadequate consumption of pesticides and fertilizers. So controlling fertilizer usage in farms, encouraging the consumption of healthy products, establishing training classes for farmers and raising their awareness about dangers of overuse of chemical fertilizers are essential for improving the environmental efficiency of Rice farmers in Guilan province.
M.A. Roshanfar; H. Amirnejad; H. Najafi Alamdarlo; B. Nazari
Abstract
Introduction: Today, governments have to adopt different policies to offset water scarcity and balance groundwater resources. Among the policies that have been emphasized in this regard, are subsidies and incentive payments to use modern irrigation technology. In Iran, the policy of grants for under ...
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Introduction: Today, governments have to adopt different policies to offset water scarcity and balance groundwater resources. Among the policies that have been emphasized in this regard, are subsidies and incentive payments to use modern irrigation technology. In Iran, the policy of grants for under pressure irrigation systems is mentioned in the budget law of the country. It is generally believed that the implementation of this policy can save water and would lead to the conservation of groundwater resources. But, in practice this issue has not yet been proven. It is generally believed that the implementation of this policy can save water and lead to the conservation of groundwater resources. But, in practice this issue has not yet been proven. So, the Qazvin plain as one of the biggest and the depleting aquifers in Iran is selected as case study.
Materials and Methods: Since, the irrigation water is supplied through the canal in the modern irrigation network area and the agricultural wells in the traditional cultivations, the objective function of the dynamic programming model is considered to maximize the net present value of cultivating in the irrigation network area and the land of Qazvin plain area. The crop yield in the objective function of the model is the functional of the quantity of water available for plant, which is expressed in the quadratic form. The groundwater pumping costs were considered as a function of pump lift. By pumping groundwater, the saturated thickness would decrease in two area. Therefore, the equation of the groundwater balance was formed to allow changes in aquifer stock from one period to another. The components of this equation were considered as the difference in the inflow to the aquifer from the outflow of the aquifer. The maximum groundwater extraction in the model is limited to the natural capacity of pumping from wells and access to the canal water is confined by the long-term average canal water. It is named the first scenario. The upper limit of access to canal water that supplied from combined wells and artificial recharge was simulated according to rainfall variations and then its average long-term value was calculated. For this purpose, the probability of occurrence of dry, normal and wet years was calculated by the standard precipitation index (SPI) using monthly data of 60 years.
Results and Discussion: This paper presents an analytic model of the effectiveness of groundwater conservation policies on irrigated agriculture in Qazvin plain such as grant for under pressure irrigation systems. The results indicated that by increase in the share of grant, the groundwater used per hectare in the modern irrigation system is lower than the flood irrigation system and gradually the modern system is chosen instead of the flood system. With increasing share of grant the yield and net profit will be increased for each crop until the yield reaches saturation. The results showed that in the whole area, by increasing the share of grant, total water consumption and total groundwater are decreasing and so water will be saved. On the other hand, by increasing the share of grant, the deep percolation into the depth decreases. Investigating the groundwater balance showed that in the normal conditions, the increase in the share of grant cause to increase aquifer stock deficit and reduce the groundwater head and saturated thickness. The empirical findings in Qazvin plain showed that the long term average of the aquifer's reservoir volume is decreasing with increasing the share of grants. In the final, the cost effectiveness analysis (CEA) was calculated for total saved water and the aquifer stock to the total amount of government payments.
Conclusion: A review of the effect of grant policy for investing in the modern irrigation systems on the water use was considered efficient on saving water. It means that with increasing the share of grant the overall water saving in the area will increase. But, the implementation of this policy does not conserve groundwater resources. So, for each a million tomans payment, 665 and 598 cubic meters of water are saved, respectively. However, this policy is not effective for the conserve of groundwater resources because in the share of 100% for each a million tomans payment, the aquifer stock is reduced to 2912 cubic meters. As a final remark, it is suggested that grant policy be accompanied by a limitation on groundwater pumping and crop pattern.
Z. Nematollahi; S.A. Hosseini-Yekani; H. Amirnejad
Abstract
Introduction: Weather factors such as temperature has an enormous influence on agriculture. Therefore, efficient weather risk management has become an urgent requirement for this sector. In recent years, a new instrument named weather derivatives has been introduced to cope with production risk. So, ...
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Introduction: Weather factors such as temperature has an enormous influence on agriculture. Therefore, efficient weather risk management has become an urgent requirement for this sector. In recent years, a new instrument named weather derivatives has been introduced to cope with production risk. So, this paper aims at designing and pricing the temperature-based weather derivatives (WD) in order to reduce risk exposure for Iranian agriculture industry. For this purpose, a put option with cumulated growing degree days (GDD) as its underlying index has been selected
Materials and Methods: We first examine the relationship behavior of temperature and yield for wheat and Rice in Shiraz. Then, for designing and pricing WD in agriculture, GDD index has been selected as one of the most widely used temperature indicators in agricultural sector. We design this contract for each stage of wheat and rice life cycles instead of designing one contract for crop’s growing seasons. So, the life cycles of two crops (Wheat and Rice) divided into 7 stages titled: Emergence, Tillering, and stem elongation, Gravidity, Flowering, Milky ripe and Maturity. Since contract design happens during these stages, we have 6 contracts for each product. Each contract starts with the beginning of one stage and continues until the other stagestarts.
The GDD index is calculated based on the temperature data and the life cycles of the wheat and rice in Shiraz. So, the long-term mean of GDD is calculated as the Strike level of put option contract. The simulation method based on daily temperature data is used for pricing the contracts. Finally, the expected payoff and the price of the options are determined using the Monte Carlo simulation method.
Results and Discussion: The results revealed a significantly positive relationship between wheat yield and GDD as well as a positive impact of GDD on Rice yield. This implies that increasing growing degree days would increase wheat and rice yield. The R2 coefficient also indicates that 76 percent of the variations in yield of wheat and rice are explained by the growing degree day's index. Therefore, the design of temperature based weather derivatives contracts will have high efficiency in order to cover the risk of farmers.
As expected, rice has a relatively higher strike price than wheat as rice-groups accumulate GDD in warm seasons. We assume that the annual risk-free interest rate r is 15 percent and the expected payoff also the price of the contract put option is calculated based on 10000 Monte Carlo simulations. Based on the results, the most wheat payoff in Shiraz was related to the second contract (from the November 21st to the March 6st). Therefore, the use of the temperature option in this period will compensate farmers for their loss. In terms of rice, the most payoffs in Shiraz have occurred in the twelfth contract (Aug 19st to Oct 17st).
Conclusion: Financial weather derivatives (WD) are designed to serve as hedging instruments against weather risk and to balance the income of producers such as farmers. WD was first traded in 1997 and since then their popularity has increased. However, weather derivatives as well as designing and pricing of contracts based on weather has not been introduced in Iran. Therefore, in present research, while introducing the mechanism of the weather derivatives and options based on weather indicators the designing and pricing of put option contracts based on temperature have been discussed in Shiraz. For this purpose, GDD index has been selected as one of the most widely used temperature indicators in agricultural sector. The GDD index is calculated based on the temperature data and the life cycles of the wheat and rice in Shiraz. So, the long-term mean of GDD is calculated as the Strike level of put option contract. The simulation method based on daily temperature data is used for pricing the contracts. Finally, the expected payoff and the price of the options are determined using the Monte Carlo simulation method. As discussed before, the temperature options for each city and product are designed based on the different stages of life cycles of the crops so we plan and set the price of put options for six different time periods. Based on the results, the most wheat payoff in Shiraz was related to the second contract during the November 21st to the March 6st. Therefore, the utilization of the temperature option in this period will compensate farmers for their loss. In the case of rice, the most payoffs in Shiraz have occurred in the twelfth contract (Aug 19st to Oct 17st). Therefore, it is recommended to use the results of the present study to launch a weather derivative’s market. In addition, it is vital to change and revise these contracts by conducting various studies about the effects of changing contracts specifications on farmers and other Contributors in the market.
S.M. Mojaverian; M. Taghizadeh; H. Amirnezhad
Abstract
Introduction: Eliminating the deprivation of less developed areas has always been considered as a challenge to the realization of economic and social justice in the country that was not realized due to various reasons such as geographical isolation, imposed war and insecurities, inconsistencies and limiting ...
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Introduction: Eliminating the deprivation of less developed areas has always been considered as a challenge to the realization of economic and social justice in the country that was not realized due to various reasons such as geographical isolation, imposed war and insecurities, inconsistencies and limiting factors of investment security, and credits. The budget and credit law is one of the most important strategic tools to achieve the goals of each country. Credits are the most important tools for tracking policies and priorities, programing, and modifying activities. Therefore, the proper understanding of this tool and its principled application, as well as the optimal allocation method, is very important. In general, the governments are attempting to allocate the resources optimally and reduce inequalities through optimal programing. Accreditation is regarded as a strategic tool for implementing the government's duties in the economy which can provide a competent and accountable government and promote people's participation. The previous studies indicated that traditional budget allocation patterns are not efficient and appropriate leading to inequality and widening gap between regions. Using traditional accreditation patterns led to the acceleration of inappropriate allocation of spatial areas of population, facilities, infrastructure and investment in Iran. Optimality and efficiency are considered as the most important aspects of budgeting and accreditation, which can improve the financial performance of the government, decrease inequality and increase the level of development in the regions. In this regard, the researchers always attempted to provide a scientific approach based on mathematical optimization methods for the optimal and efficient allocation of financial and credit resources.
Materials and Methods: Goal programing approach was introduced by Charnes and Cooper (7). It was one of the approaches to multi-objective decision-making problems classified as mathematical optimization approaches with multiple targets. This model presented an optimal solution for optimizing the objective function in accordance with the applied constraints based on decision-making atmosphere and developed constraints.
In this method, a certain number was determined for the goal and the related target function was categorized. Finally, the answer minimizing the total weight of each target deviation than the goal determined for the same target was searched. In order to optimize the appropriation of agricultural credits in Kerman province, a goal planning model was designed and presented for achieving the goals. In this method, for each goal, a certain number is assigned to the ideal, then the target function is formulated. Finally, a search result is obtained that the total weight of the deviation of each goal is related to the ideal determined to minimize the same goal. The most important macroeconomic, social and environmental goals including 6 indices: comparative advantage, labor productivity, water productivity, land productivity, fertilizer productivity and mechanization coefficient, respectively were considered for the model. Fuzzy AHP method was used to determine the coefficient of importance of these indices in nine northern township of this province.
Results and Discussion: The results show that to achieve the common goals of different township of the province, it is necessary to allocate more credits to all township, especially Rafsanjan, Sirjan, Shahrbabak, Bardsir and Baft. The reason for such an outcome is the existence of capacity and potential of agriculture in these township. In Kerman, considering the available capacity and potential in agriculture, it is not necessary to use more credits. Thus, allocating credits to the county of Kerman is practically equal to carrying out the project at a higher cost. Nonetheless, other township can certainly and potentially attract more funding at a lower cost. It is worthwhile to say that to achieve the overall objectives of this study, goal programing models for reallocating agricultural credits to the field has been used. In other words, due to existing and available credits, we can plan purposefully and reprogram to achieve higher levels of macro goals in agriculture in Kerman province
Conclusions: Based on the results, the credits allocated in 2014 which was made by law was not balanced. Second, considering ideals, the allocation of available credits is not optimal. Comparing the six considered ideals, all ideals, except the mechanization coefficient ideal which is higher in this situation, were lower; therefore, the present allocation of credits is not optimal. Third, the ideals could be realized if there was a convergent allocation in the agricultural credits (a convergence allocation means using more capacities and potentials in more potent Townships). In other words, the capacities and capabilities of the agricultural activities in these Townships have remained useless due to the lack of awareness and incorrect allocation of credits. Therefore, these potentials can be used with the low cost in order to reduce regional inequality, and make a convergence in the production and employment in Kerman province if a balanced budget and programs agricultural credits related can be launched.
H. Amirnejad; A.R. Shahpouri; M. Taslimi
Abstract
Introduction: In today’s traditional agriculture and trade, it may not be possible to increase yields per hectare without applying some types of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. By producing 950 thousand tons of rice Mazandaran province supplies 42% of rice of the country. In the internal and external ...
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Introduction: In today’s traditional agriculture and trade, it may not be possible to increase yields per hectare without applying some types of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. By producing 950 thousand tons of rice Mazandaran province supplies 42% of rice of the country. In the internal and external studies, it has been dealt with the study of entering nitrate into water technically. According to the destructive effects of nitrogen water-soluble on health and to the fact that Mazandaran province is the main producer of rice in Iran and applying the fertilizers containing nitrate is common in rice cultivation; the purpose of this study was to examine the effective factors on the entrance of nitrate into groundwater in cultivating rice in Sari. The aim of the present study is also to examine the effective factors on absorption pure nitrogen in the water used to cultivate rice.
Materials and Methods: The dependent variable in this study indicates the amount of pure nitrogen used water by i th farmer that has been divided into three categories. Calculating the dependent variable is such that the total amount of urea consumed by farmer is obtained by interview with farmers, the dependent variable of the amount of Nitrate pollution used groundwater was divided into three classes of low, medium and high. Considering such studies and the nature of dependent variable of the present study, that is as ordered discrete, the best model to respond the research objective is to use logit ordered pattern, but if the parallel regression assumption has not been considered, the advanced generalized ordered logit pattern should be used. In generalized ordered logit, the estimating parameters of independent variables that have rejected the assumption of parallel regression, cannot be same for different groups or levels. In other words, each level not only has separate intercept but also different coefficients. In order to select the samples, simple random sampling method has been used. Data used in this section has been collected by survey research method in 2015 for Sari. In order to determine the sample size, a pre-study has been conducted based on Cochran relation. The sample size of farmers’ was set at 98 farmers but finally 106 questionnaires were completed. Estimating the model and their results were conducted through Stata v.12 software.
Results and Discussion: According to the results, the dependent variable has been divided into three groups. About 43% of rice producers are the farms who used a moderate amount of nitrate into water, but 64% of them used medium and high amount of nitrate pollution that should be noticed. The results of parallel regression test for individual independent variables showed that among 17 independent variables, seven variables have been violated the condition of parallel regression. Therefore, the generalized ordered logit model was used. The variable income that has not been violated the assumption of parallel regression, has the coefficient of 0.83 in the first and second groups, that has been significant at the level of 10%. It means that, by increasing the level of farmers’ income and stability of other conditions, the possibility that the farmer will be in the group with more pollution will increase. As expected, the significant variable such as applying animal fertilizer, paying water expenses and agreement with omitting subsidy have negative and significant effect on the amount of nitrate used water. In other words, by increase in each variable, the possibility of placing farmers in the group of more pollution decreases. If farmers’ income increases as one unit, the possibility of placing the farmer in the group of low pollution decreases 0.2 unit and placing in the group of high pollution increases 0.17 unit. Being familiar with cultivating organic production will increases the possibility of placing the farmer in the group of low pollution in 0.55 unit, while the possibility of placing in the group with high pollution increase in less amount. On the other hand, the more positive attitude in rice cultivator towards supportive and public organization, the possibility of their placing in the group of low pollution of Nitrate decreases 0.13 units and the possibility of their placement in the group of high pollution on Nitrate increases 0.11 units.
Conclusions: Based on the obtained results and coefficient for every level of dependent variable, entrance of Nitrate in to groundwater in cultivating rice in Sari and interpreting the final effects of significant variables, the recommendations are offered for optimal utilization of fertilizers containing Nitrate and improving health of groundwater in cultivating rice as follows According to the factors effective on income and this variable that cultivating rice could not afford life express of 77% of the surveyed people, public supportive, private and insurance organizations should pay specific attention to this significant and important section. Revising supportive policies of the supportive public and private organizations for rice cultivators can be effective so that the policy making should have been lead into facilitate solving production and improving the farmers’ income than subsidiary supports of fertilizers. Revising in owner share and share on transaction under the supervision organs of agriculture are recommended. Of course income support and facilitating the sales of owner farmer can avoid renting the farm. Applying natural fertilizers and being familiar with cultivating organic and healthy products, have placed the rice cultivator in the level of minimum usage of chemical fertilizer as well as nitrate entrance into groundwater. Therefore, promoting, advertising and encouraging farmers to cultivate organic can be a strategy accompanied with financial and security incentive and finally, it is recommended to design and perform efficient policy making of water market in Mazandaran province to approach the real price of water.
H. Amirnejad; S.M.J. Moayedian
Abstract
Introduction: Natural resources and the environment, such as mountains are considered public goods. The main features of these public goods are lack of market and price for exchange. This issue leads to a worthless impression about these goods, lack of effort for their conservation and preventing resource ...
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Introduction: Natural resources and the environment, such as mountains are considered public goods. The main features of these public goods are lack of market and price for exchange. This issue leads to a worthless impression about these goods, lack of effort for their conservation and preventing resource degradation. One of the major benefits of environmental resources, such as mountains, is their function as environmental amenities (for leisure and recreation). The estimation of their recreational worth is important as a part of the total value of such resources. In this context, the aim of this study is to estimate the economic value of environmental amenities of Sofeh Highland Park in Isfahan by individual travel cost method.
Materials and Methods: Travel cost method is used for the evaluation of public goods or environmental non-market commodities. It is applied to a wide range of areas, including tourism values of lakes and wetlands, coral reefs, biodiversity and national parks, recreational fishing and mountaineering. The travel cost approach does not ask willingness to pay directly, but imputes it from the observed behavior of other visitors through an estimated demand function, which relates the number of observed trips to the incurred travel cost. Underpinning the travel cost method is for the estimation of the recreational demand function, from which consumer surplus estimates can be derived. Consumer surplus -the measure of non-market benefits to the visitors- is the difference between what the visitor would be (theoretically) willing to pay to go the intended recreational location, and what they are actually required to pay. In this research, the individual travel cost method was used. For this purpose, a 290 item questionnaire with simple random sampling was filled by travelers in the area in 2013. Then the demand function of environmental amenities (tourism demand) was estimated in two scenarios by using negative binomial regression for the revealed and the expressed travel costs and total travel costs.
Results Discussion: Collected data shows that the average age of visitors is 31 years. Most of them are young, 66% of visitors are male and the rest are female. Most of the respondents chose the spring season for visiting Sofeh Park. Results of negative binomial regression estimation showed that age, income, distance and the revealed and total travel cost have a significant effect on the total number of visits in both scenarios. Age and income coefficients are positive. Thus, these variables have a direct effect on the number of visit in both scenarios. But distance and travel cost coefficients are negative. Therefore, these variables have a reverse effect on the total number of visits in both scenarios. These results confirm the demand law. The law of demand states that the quantity demanded and the price of a commodity are inversely related. Travel cost as commodity price for tourism demand function in the first scenario is only revealed -travel- cost of trip to location and in the second scenario is the revealed cost in addition to the opportunity cost of trip to the recreational location. Consumer surplus as the average value of environmental amenities is calculated by1/ , where is the coefficient related to travel cost variable in the tourism demand functions. Also, the average value of environmental amenities for anyone visit in the first and the second scenarios are 797 and 1145 thousand Rials, respectively. The obvious difference between recreational values in the two scenarios is due to opportunity cost. The total recreational value of the Sofeh Highland Park equals to the product of number of annual visits and average recreational value. Finally the total value of annual visits to the park, in the above scenarios is more than 11952 and 17174 billion Rials, respectively.
Conclusion: In this study, the value of environmental amenities of the Sofeh Highland Park were estimated. Notice that the above values are not the price of Sofeh Park that is a natural environment in the current study. In fact, these values are "minimum of recreational values" of any given environment. It is essential for the visitors to have knowledge of this value in order to conserve the environment and the regional facilities. Furthermore, it is essential for the authorities to have knowledge of this value, with the aim of making more efforts and overseeing improvements and conservation of this environment. Also, alongside the protection plans for Sofeh Highland Park, authorities can bring about an increase in the number of annual visits to this Park by reducing travel and opportunity costs through facilitating the conditions to access, such as improving public transportation to this park.
Keywords: Individual Travel Costs, Isfahan Sofeh Highland Park, Negative Binomial Regression, Value of Environmental Amenities, Tourism Demand Function
H. Amirnejad; H. Rafiee
Abstract
It is very important to analyze the rice market structure in Mazandaran province, as this province is competent to produce rice. Mazandaran rice market was analyzed by completing 55 questionnaires in Producer, wholesaler and retailers level, randomly in 2009. Results show that marketing margins of two ...
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It is very important to analyze the rice market structure in Mazandaran province, as this province is competent to produce rice. Mazandaran rice market was analyzed by completing 55 questionnaires in Producer, wholesaler and retailers level, randomly in 2009. Results show that marketing margins of two Varieties namely- local (Tarom) and multi-product- were 5850 and 3700 rials, respectively; also, the rice wholesale marketing margin is more than its retail marketing margin and producer proportion for local and multi-product have been estimated 58.214 and 52.564 percent, respectively. The wholesaler share is more than retailer share in rice market for both types. As whole, by existence of wholesalers, inefficiency of the market will increase; the producer-wholesaler-consumer channel has been the most inefficient marketing rout in case of price, technical and total inefficiency but the producer-consumer rout has been the most efficient one. Estimating the cost coefficient imply that 11.143 and 20 percent of total cost relate to marketing cost in local and multi-product markets, respectively. There is a lot of difference between sum of marketing costs and farm cost in two types markets. So these markets are not clear and this cause to decrease their efficiency. According to estimated total marketing margin function, in two types markets, retail price and marketing cost have significant effects on total marketing margin and retail price has higher and more significant effect on total marketing margin. Therefore, if retail price increase by 1 percent, total marketing margin will increase 1.625 and 1.436 percent in local and multi-product markets, respectively.