Farhad Lashgarara

The information and communication technology (ICT) offices in rural areas of Iran have been developed as government provided counters under a national project in the past decades. The rural ICT offices were expected to benefit the rural people in various socioeconomic dimensions such as health, social connectivity, crop diversity, agricultural productivity, occupational capability and the lifestyle in general. However, these middle range offices in Iran did not perform as expected, and thus they require an urgent restructuring to boost up their performances and to enhance their acceptability. This study investigates the effectiveness of the ICT systems and services in place in the Qazvin province of Iran with the purpose of identifying the major requirements needed to fix up the system. The focus of this study was around 10,000 people organised through rural ICT agents and their users in the rural area of Qazvin. The survey involves 138 rural ICT offices operated by 103 cooperative agents. Of them, 16 rural ICT offices were selected randomly, and 165 rural users connected with the selected offices were interviewed by the research team. Collected data have been analysed with structural equation modeling. The study shows that education, policy and management requirements deserve the highest attention, and therefore the best ways to improve the effectiveness of rural ICT offices. This study suggests that the effectiveness of rural ICT offices can be improved

Food and nutrition security is of the main pillars of national development, showing new attitudes, needs and priorities at the level of policy and implementation in recent years. Thus, it calls for proper and comprehensive management. The present study examined the construct building components affecting food security (FS) in the agricultural sector. The data related to evaluation of the requirements for setting up a management information system in the agricultural sector of Khuzestan were collected by visiting the agricultural service centers and using a questionnaire and interview. The questionnaire needed was researcher-made, designed based on the basic research questions. The results of the study regarding the rejection or confirmation of sub-hypotheses indicated that technical requirements, economic requirements, hardware requirements, software requirements, scheduling requirements, and socio-cultural requirements all with a probability of 99%, and management requirements and legal requirements with a probability of 95% were confirmed. Economic requirements had the greatest effect on FS, followed by, respectively, technical, hardware, operational, software, socio-cultural, scheduling, legal, human resource and managerial requirements in the next priorities of the effect on FS. Thusly, management requirements had the least effect on FS, yet all requirements of the hypotheses were confirmed at the same time.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the predictors that influence the development of an entrepreneurial university development using structural equation modeling. Through a descriptive correlation research method, the study focused on Ph.D. students and faculty members in the Science and Research Branch, University of Islamic Azad, Iran. Data were collected through a face-to-face interview with the respondents using a researcher-made questionnaire from 255 people through simple random sampling method. The questionnaire validity and reliability confirmed by content, construct and composite test respectively. Data analyzed using SPSS (V20) and LISREL (V8.54) software. The results showed a good fit for the proposed model. Also, the results revealed that "organizational culture", "knowledge management", "transformational leadership", "university's external capabilities" and "entrepreneurship culture" had positive and "organizational structure" has a negative influence on the development of entrepreneurial University. Finally, some operational suggestion provided.

The aim of this study is to analysis the requirements for realization overseas cultivation to develop food security in Iran. The statistical population of the study is included 176 people who are theoretically selected from researchers, experts and activists from research centers, government organizations and private sectors. These people are active in the fi eld of overseas cultivation. A questionnaire was developed to collect the necessary information. The dependent variable of this research was the improvement of food security, which has been measured in four aspects of food availability, food accessibility, food utilization and stability of the three mentioned dimensions of food security. The independent variables were the requirements for the realization of overseas cultivation in four groups including: policy-making; economic; cultural and social; agronomical and specialized ones. SPSS20 and AMOS22 software are used to analyze data. The result of inferential statistics, which is done using confi rmatory factor analysis and Bayesian approach in Amos software, shows that all independent variables have a positive effect on the dependent variables. The study shows that "agronomical and specialized" requirement has the highest infl uence on the realization of overseas cultivation in this country. The "availability of technical information about the agriculture water resources in the target country" plays an important role in measuring the "agronomical and specialized" requirements element. In addition, the results show that among the four aspects of food availability, access to food, utilization and stability of the three mentioned aspects of food security, stability plays the most important role in the development of food security in Iran.

Climate change and water scarcity are the most important challenges of the agricultural sector, and pressurized irrigation systems (PISs) are one of the most significant ways to improve agricultural water productivity. The main purpose of this research was to identify the factors affecting the use of PISs by farmers. The statistical research population was a total of 2396 Iranian model farmers. The Cochran formula was used to determine the number of statistical samples. Accordingly, this comprised 331 people. The methodology of the study was mixed method research. The structural equation modeling technique, Mann–Whitney U, and Kruskal–Wallis tests were used to test the hypotheses. The results showed that the personal characteristics, tendency, attitude, self-efficacy, subjective norms, governmental support, environmental tensions, and technological features were the most important factors which influenced the farmers. It was found that all of these variables had a positive and significant relationship with the using of PISs by farmers, and they were able to predict 52% of the behavioral changes (R 2) of the farmers. Among these variables, the attitude, with a path coefficient (β) of 0.48, had the highest impact on the using of PISs by the farmers.

In recent years, rural marketing has gained significant importance as a driver of economic growth. However, one of the main problems in the production cycle in rural areas is inefficient marketing. Today, the quantitative and qualitative improvement in rural marketing requires accurate and up to date information. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) provide this information. So, survey applications of ICTs are very important in rural marketing mix. A questionnaire survey was conducted on members of rural cooperatives in Garmsar, Iran. Descriptive statistics and structural equation modelling were used to analyze the data using SPSS 20 and AMOS 20 software, respectively. The descriptive results showed that the rural marketing mix is undesirable. In addition, ICT capabilities have much role in boosting the rural marketing mix. The order of the effects of ICT capabilities on components of this mix are as follows: diffusion capabilities on the promotion (68%), and on the price (31%), location capabilities on the place (54%), and efficiency capabilities on the product (0.33%) and on the price (28%). Moreover, on the basis of the findings from the structural equation modelling, among the four ICT capabilities i.e. diffusion, location, efficiency, and financial, the impact of the financial capabilities of ICT on the price were more than that of the other capabilities (0.77).

The issue of food security is considered an inseparable part of international development policies, so creating a nationally effective system to ensure food security, in addition to supporting the nutrition and health of the community, improves food industry status and increases production and income levels. To this end, the present study was carried out to identify the essential requirements for establishing innovative rural institutions to improve the food security of rice growers in Mazandaran, Iran. Economic, socio-cultural, infrastructure, policy-making, educational, and technical requirements were investigated, with each considered an observed variable with some items for each and to survey the impact of them on dimensions of food security and finally food security itself. The dependent variable was food security, measured by the five dimensions of availability, access, use, sustainability and safety. From a total of 113,141 rice growers in Mazandaran Province, Iran 216 were selected as the sample according to the Cochran method. Structural equation modelling and Amos 22 software were used in this study. The results showed that all six requirements mentioned above have an effect on food security, with technical requirements exhibiting the greatest effect, with a coefficient of 0.914. Suggestions are proposed for implementing these requirements.

The aim of this study is to investigate the factors affecting on implementation of green marketing in the Zahra Rosewater Company. This is a descriptive correlation study that uses the survey method. The Zahra Rosewater Company's staff, which consists of 80 persons, some of whom are located outside of Iran, is the statistical population of this study. Because of the small sample size, a census study was conducted. The main research tool is a questionnaire which its validity was determined based on comments of agricultural management scholars. Bayesian Cronbach's alpha was 0.705 to 0.911, which substantiates the reliability of the questionnaire. Data analysis was performed through structural equations modelling using Lisrel software, and the results indicate that personal, socio-cultural, economic, educational, promotional, and technological factors are effective factors in the application of green marketing.

S mall and medium enterprises play a significant role in economic and industrial development in the developed and developing countries. The main purpose of the study was to investigate the key factors in the effective of growth enterprises. The statistical population of this study according to assessment of Agri-Bank of the Semnan Province includes the managers of enterprises in agricultural sector of Semnan Province who were evaluated as successful enterprises (1932 agricultural units). For determining the sample 125 persons were selected by using Cochran's formula through stratified random sampling. The main tool for collecting data was questionnaire. The results indicated that 6.4% of agricultural growth enterprises were fully successful, 79.2% were successful, and 13.6% were rather successful. According to the results, there was a significant difference between the achievement levels of growth enterprises in different educational groups with confidence level of 95%. In addition, regression analysis showed that seven variables of initial capital, current production value, years of activity, number of personnel, firm size, investment amount, and business history altogether explained 47.7% of variance in the growth enterprises. Abstract International Journal of Agricultural Management and Development (IJAMAD)

Climate change poses as one of the greatest ethical challenges of the contemporary era and which is rapidly affecting all sectors and ecosystems, including natural ecosystems and human and social environments. The impacts on human societies, and societies' ability to mitigate and adapt to these changes and to adhere to ethical principles are influenced by various factors, including gender. Therefore, this study aimed to design a model of climate change adaptation behavior among rice farmers in Mazandaran Province, northern Iran, based on gender analysis (IUCN, UNDP and GGCA in Training manual on gender and climate change, 2009) and using the developed model of protection motivation theory (Bockarjova and Steg in Glob Environ Change 28:276-288, 2014). For this purpose, 173 female and 233 male rice farmers in Mazandaran Province were selected through stratified random sampling. The results showed that threat and coping appraisal had positive and significant effects on climate change adaptation behavior in both groups. Additionally, men's and women's perceived severity had the greatest impact on threat appraisal, and response costs had the greatest impact on their coping appraisal of climate change. Given that climate change adaptation behavior has been largely dependent on the development of ethical principles and the behavior of men and women toward climate change and based on the research findings, some suggestions are recommended at the mega (international), macro (governmental and legislative), meso (related organizations) and micro (rice farmers) levels for male and female rice farmers to adapt to the climate change phenomenon.

Green marketing has rapidly emerged as a global phenomenon around the world .As a result, some companies have responded to environmental challenges by applying green marketing strategies. However, with the increasing importance of environmental and health issues and the concept of social responsibility among consumers, recognizing behavior by actors and companies related to green products marketing is necessary. Therefore, this study helps to improve the understanding of green marketing behavior, which plays an important role in improving community health and economic growth. This study aims to design a green marketing behavioral pattern focusing on poultry products. The statistical population of this study is 145 actors who are involved in the production, distribution, promotion and pricing of green poultry products in Iran (Gilan Province). The findings indicate that attitudes toward green marketing (β: 0/94), subjective norms in relation to green marketing (β: 0/90) and feasibility (β: 0/67) had significant positive influences on intention toward green marketing. In addition, the results of green marketing behavior revealed that intention toward green marketing (β: 0/48), feasibility (β: 0.28) and government support (β = 0.56) were the three variables that influenced green marketing behavior, with government support having the greatest impact.

This study was designed to evaluate the role of organic farming in improving food security from the perspective of farmers in the Fars province of Iran. The research method was practical in terms of its purpose, non-experimental in terms of the data collection, and correlational in terms of the data analysis. The study population comprised 622 farmers who were members of plant pathology clinics in Fars province of which 187 of them were selected as the sample size by the use of Cochran's formula through a proportional stratified sampling method. The research tool was a questionnaire for which validity was confirmed by experts and its reliability by Cronbach's alpha coefficient (0.704–0.982). The results revealed that farmers (45.5%) viewed their food security at an average level. The estimated standardized regression coefficients in the model showed that, from the farmers' perspective, the most effective capabilities in improving food security were technical (0.747), health and safety (0.735), and the optimization of production (0.628), respectively.

S mall and medium enterprises play a significant role in economic and industrial development in the developed and developing countries. The main purpose of the study was to investigate the key factors in the effective of growth enterprises. The statistical population of this study according to assessment of Agri-Bank of the Semnan Province includes the managers of enterprises in agricultural sector of Semnan Province who were evaluated as successful enterprises (1932 agricultural units). For determining the sample 125 persons were selected by using Cochran's formula through stratified random sampling. The main tool for collecting data was questionnaire. The results indicated that 6.4% of agricultural growth enterprises were fully successful, 79.2% were successful, and 13.6% were rather successful. According to the results, there was a significant difference between the achievement levels of growth enterprises in different educational groups with confidence level of 95%. In addition, regression analysis showed that seven variables of initial capital, current production value, years of activity, number of personnel, firm size, investment amount, and business history altogether explained 47.7% of variance in the growth enterprises. Abstract International Journal of Agricultural Management and Development (IJAMAD)

The purpose of this research was to identifying factors affecting the establishment of knowledge management in Superior cooperatives in Tehran Province. The present study is a non-experimental (descriptive) research in terms of method of data collection, and a correlation study, in terms of method kind. The research sample (120) was chosen among 175 faculty members and CEOs of Superior cooperative in Tehran Province using Cochran formula. The research instrument was a questionnaire whose validity was confirmed by the research committee and its reliability was calculated (0.78 – 0.95), using Cronbach's alpha, respectively. The findings show that the majority of subjects (45.8 percent) believe that the current state of knowledge management in Superior cooperative of Tehran Province is desirable. Table 2 shows that there is a significant positive relationship with 99% confidence between educational, socio-cultural, economic, structural and managerial-policy-making factors with the variable of obstacles and restrictions. In addition, the results of regression analysis showed that nearly 73 percent of the dependent variable can be explained by structural factors, obstacles and constraints as well as economic and socio-cultural factors. The results of the path analysis showed that the structural variable, directly and indirectly, has had the greatest impact on the dependent variable.

The purpose of this research was to design the model of Knowledge Management in Superior cooperatives in Tehran Province. The present study is a non-experimental (descriptive) research in terms of method of data collection, and a correlation study, in terms of method kind. The research sample (120) was chosen among 175 faculty members and CEOs of Superior cooperative in Tehran Province using Cochran formula. The research tool was a questionnaire, its validity confirmed by the Investigative Committee and its reliability was evaluated by preliminary test. Cronbach's alpha coefficient and bayesian estimation for all sections of the questionnaire was obtained more than 0.7. The findings show that the majority of subjects (45.8 percent) believe that the current state of knowledge management in Superior cooperative of Tehran Province is desirable. To analyze the considered relationships in the conceptual model, the Structural Equation Modeling Method was used. The most important factors affecting the establishment of knowledge management in the mentioned cooperatives referred to the educational, infrastructure, economic, socio-cultural and policy-making-managerial components, respectively.

In the knowledge economy, to maintain competitive advantage organizations must continuously innovate and utilize knowledge to create new and better-quality goods and services. E-education focused on the modern use of the Internet, is global as "virtual", given the use of some concepts with similar semantics: Learning through Web (Web-based learning), distributed learning (distributed learning), learning by computer, distance learning, open learning or learning in the network. On the other hand, the term "e-education" refers to the application of Internet technology to the delivery of learning experiences. One of the best choices for designing electronic education is information technology. One of the main characteristics of information technology is its rapidly developing. Information technology (IT) is the study, design, development, implementation, support or management of computer-based information systems, particularly software applications and computer hardw...

Strengthening agriculture is critical for facing the challenges of rural poverty, food insecurity, unemployment, and sustainability of natural resources. Accessible, transparent and remunerative markets are necessary to raise incomes and improve livelihoods of the rural poor. In developing countries, agricultural markets rarely meet these needs. In today's business marketplace, effective use and flow of information is the key to success. The global revolution in information and telecommunication technologies has ...

In the knowledge economy, to maintain competitive advantage organizations must continuously innovate and utilize knowledge to create new and better-quality goods and services. E-education focused on the modern use of the Internet, is global as" virtual", given the use of some concepts with similar semantics: Learning through Web (Web-based learning), distributed learning (distributed learning), learning by computer, distance learning, open learning or learning in the network. On the other hand, the term" e-education" refers ...

Some scholars argue that education and training need to be placed at the forefront of the rural development in order to build the human capacity needed for rural development. Education is realized to be a mean of enhancing human capacity. Consequently, there is a great demand for education in rural areas. E-Learning has the potential to bridge the educational gaps and improve the lives of millions of people in the developing world. E-Learning is a major growth area and is very important in a rural context. The methodology ...

Abstract—Knowledge is a primary resource, no less important than land, labor or capital for improving the lives of people. In the recent years, one of the best tools for delivering information in Iran is Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Hardware and software used to generate, prepare, transmit and store data, such as computers, radio, TV, computer programmes/tools; etc has been defined as ICT. ICT have this potential to offer new opportunities for a creation of innovative solutions to move towards the sustainable ...

Access to desirable, sufficient, safe and nutritious food is one of the basic components of the development and health of a society. ICTs represent an important strategy that can be used in attaining food security. The main purpose of this research, performed in 2006 to 2007, was to identify the effectiveness of ICTs in improving the food utilization of Iranian rural households. A descriptive methodology was applied in this research, through questionnaires. The statistical population for the study included 253 agricultural extension ...

This study aims to identify the factors influencing entrepreneurial motivation by investigating
the factors influencing students' entrepreneurial motivation which provide their employment by
resolving those problems. In terms of objective, this is an applied study and in terms of method
is correlational. The population used in this study includes all students in agricultural extension
and rural development in Msc and Ph.D (N= 233) which 117 people were selected by simple
random sampling. The instrument used in this study to collect data is questionnaire. The
dependent variable in this research is entrepreneurship motivation. The results showed that
variables of economic factors, willing to attend training courses in entrepreneurship and policy
factors determined 79.4% of variance in entrepreneurship motivation.

This research was conducted in order to investigate the role of educational content and teaching-learning methods in improvement of entrepreneurship spirit among agriculture students of Tabriz University. The statistical population consists of all 1200 agriculture students of university of Tabriz which 291 students were selected by Morgan table with proportional stratified sampling method as sample. The results showed that entrepreneurship spirit of the most of the students (%54.6) is high. Also, the stepwise regression indicated that educational content explained %13 of the entrepreneurship spirits improvement.