Agricultural Economics
P. Talebi; M. Omidi Najafabadi; F. Lashgarara
Abstract
Introduction: With increasing the global population, food security is one of the most important and practical concepts which has been addressed in development documents today. Among the green products which are produced and have been considered by the authorities is green poultry. Governmental support ...
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Introduction: With increasing the global population, food security is one of the most important and practical concepts which has been addressed in development documents today. Among the green products which are produced and have been considered by the authorities is green poultry. Governmental support can be a key factor in green poultry marketing development, thus green poultry producers who work for the health of the community should have governmental support. Based on studies on the key factors influencing the development of green marketing, the overall goal of this study is to investigate the role of the government in increasing and improving green poultry production, as well as the importance of governmental support in developing green poultry production programs. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to determine the impact of governmental support on green poultry marketing development. The objectives of this study are as follows:To describe some of the personal and professional characteristics of green poultry actors;To determine the impact of government financial support on green poultry marketing development;To determine the impact of product export facilitation and import control on green poultry marketing development;To determine the impact of awareness on green poultry marketing development.Materials and Methods: This is an applied study based on quantitative research, and the method of analysis used is correlation method. Information was informally obtained from experts, and the sample size in this study base on the Cochran formula was 150 people involved in the production, pricing, promotion, and distribution of green poultry. They are referred to as actors. The study was conducted as a census study because of the small size of the population of experts, finally 128 usable questionnaires were obtained from interviews with the actors. The main instrument used for data collection was a questionnaire that was designed as a Likert scale. This study contained two types of variables: 1) green poultry marketing development as dependent variable and 2) government financial support, export facilitation and import control and awareness as independent variables. The hypotheses were measured by studying the relationships between the variables and their direct and indirect effects. The hypotheses in this study are as follows: H1) Government financial support has a significant effect on green poultry marketing development; H2) export facilitation and import control have a significant impact on green poultry marketing development and H3) awareness has a significant effect on green poultry marketing development. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is a general approach to data analysis that can accommodate either observable or latent variables (or factors) within structural models. This study used descriptive statistics and SEM. Following data mining, descriptive statistics and SEM analysis were conducted by SPSS20 and AMOS20 software, respectively.Results and Discussion: The results showed that of the 128 respondents, 4 (3.1%) were female and 124 (96.9%) were male; the average age and average work experience of the respondents were 40 and 9 years, respectively. Of the actors, 35.2% had an associate’s degree. The actors’ knowledge of green marketing was measured by a test (correct or wrong answers); the results indicated that their average level of green marketing knowledge was moderate. According to the results: 1) Government financial support has a significant effect on green poultry marketing development, 2) Facilitating exports and controlling imports have a significant impact on green poultry marketing development , and 3) Awareness has a significant effect on green poultry marketing development.Conclusion: In Iran, due to the lack of specific government policies related to organic products, there is little potential for organic poultry production. Thus, government agencies and policy makers should consider specific policies such as the following: allocating funds to develop organic production infrastructures; undertaking preparations and providing governmental support to attract foreign investors; allocating targeted funds to construct modern slaughter houses by European standards; and increasing governmental support to increase the ability of actors to produce organic products.Policies that can be effective in solving the problems of exporters include the following: concluding bilateral or multilateral trade agreements with export destination countries to reduce tariffs on imports from Iran; supporting the branding of this product; and providing stability through effective and efficient export laws and export guarantees proposed to facilitate the export of green poultry. In the awareness variable, the items "information through effective media" and "training of specialized poultry farmers" were the most important. Therefore, building trust and culture through advertising and media can be useful for both consumers and producers. Additionally, to increase awareness, holding festivals, exhibitions, and conferences can lead to the development of green marketing.
R. Mohammadi; F. Lashgarara; M. Omidi Najafabadi
Abstract
Introduction: Villages and villagers have a major role in dynamics of the country's economy, such as contributing to economic growth, controlling inflation, increasing employment rate and providing a suitable basis for agricultural, industrial and livestock products as well as environmental protection. ...
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Introduction: Villages and villagers have a major role in dynamics of the country's economy, such as contributing to economic growth, controlling inflation, increasing employment rate and providing a suitable basis for agricultural, industrial and livestock products as well as environmental protection. So, rural development is one of the prerequisites for national development. On the other hand, one of the most important aspects of rural development is its economic dimension. Today, improving rural economy is one of the major goals in national planning. In this regard, it is necessary to recognize the capabilities and potentials of each region. In the current era, ICTs with their multiple capabilities, can be one of the greatest opportunities for improving the rural economy.
The research is carried out in Garmsar city. In this city, there are some shortcomings in marketing, distribution of products and employment chances which result in increasing rural population's migration. Most of these problems are caused by lack of awareness of market information (such as customer requirements, sales prices, packaging and grading, lack of identification of relevant markets, inappropriate distribution and etc.), lack of skills for commencing new jobs, lack of familiarity with the new production, weakness in research and in general lack of attention to the factors affecting the rural economy which are directly and indirectly originated from lack of information and communication. Therefore, the study of rural economics is inevitable because it will increase its efficiency and effectiveness and ultimately accelerate national development. This study aims to identify the role of ICTs in rural economics. In this regard, the following objectives were formulated:
assessing and identifying the state of rural economy in the city
investigating the capabilities of ICTs in rural economies
Examining the relationship between the capabilities of ICTs and the rural economy.
Materials and Methods: Methods of analysis used in this study involve a combination of descriptive and quantitative research methods. Descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling (SEM) are used for data analysis. Dependent variable of current study is the rural marketing environment and independent variables are ICT capabilities in four sectors including financial, behavioral, notification and technical. The study hypotheses are examined by studying the relationships between mentioned variables and their direct and indirect effects using SEM analysis. Following data extraction, descriptive statistics and SEM analysis are conducted using the SPSS20 and AMOS20 software, respectively. The research method involves a causal-comparative approach. The statistical populations consist of rural cooperative members working in the field of rural marketing who apply ICTs in their activities. Due to the limited population size, the sample was equal to the population and a census method was used (N=n=140). The main tool used for data collection is a five-part questionnaire designed using PEST analysis in the 5-point-Likert scale format. The content and face validity are established by a panel of experts comprising faculty members and specialists in rural marketing. A pilot study is conducted with 30 experts for determining the questionnaire’s reliability, which is obtained using ordinal theta coefficients. The reliability is verified for each section of the questionnaire: the theta coefficients been estimated between 86% and 90%, indicating an acceptable level of reliability.
Results and Discussion: Based on the obtained information, more respondents (42.5%) believe that the rural economy is fairly desirable, as well, 36.2% of respondents believe that ICT capabilities play a significant role in the rural economy. Using the exploratory factor analysis, ICT capabilities are grouped into four main financial, technical, behavioral, and informational groups. As a result, ICT capabilities have a significant positive effect on rural economy. Among them, financial capabilities with the highest estimate (0.84) has the most accomplishment on dependent variable (rural economy). To evaluate the suitability and fit of the model, the goodness-of-fit measures are used, and according to the obtained criteria, the model provides appropriate fitting to data.
Conclusion: Today, governments have widely recognized the role of ICTs in economic development and many countries are implementing ICTs as a key factor to improve the economic environment. This study shows how ICT capabilities would facilitate the improvement of the rural economy and livelihood of rural communities. ICTs help quantitative and qualitative improvement of products with the possibility of selling direct and online, requirement for brokers to be reduced, opening the commercial doors and increasing sales and income of the villagers. Finally, it can be stated that ICTs are the basis for improving the rural economy.