AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS: IRANIAN JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS (ECONOMICS AND AGRICULTURE JOURNAL)
Year:2021 | Volume:15 | Issue:2|Papers Count:6

Introduction The agricultural sector, in order to develop, needs to inject financial resources and investment through two sources of consumer savings and formal and informal credit sources. Agricultural Bank plays a key role in the process of financing the agricultural sector in Iran. The survival of this role is highly dependent on the repayment of installments by the recipients of the bank loans, therefore, identifying and analyzing the determinants of farmers' behavior in repaying loan installments will play a key role in reducing the credit risk of loans paid by the Agricultural Bank. Materials and Methods In this study, has tried to investigate the determinants of farmers' behavior in repaying the installments of loans received from the Agricultural Bank. we used the information of 263 farmers in North Khorasan province that was collected in 2019 and also using a multi-group discriminant analysis model. Discriminant analysis is a statistical method for classifying a set of observations into predefined groups. This method is used to perform various statistical measures such as interpreting and justifying group differences and classifying observations in different groups. In other words, discriminant analysis is a multivariate statistical analysis method that uses linear combinations of analyzed variables to place observations into predefined groups based on their explanatory variables. Results and Discussion The results of this study showed that the variables of having a history of receiving loans, non-agricultural income, receiving loans at the right time, having bak account turnover at the time of receiving loans, annual income, production scale, level of education, type of ownership, agricultural insurance and agricultural experience are the most important variables in disciminant between different groups of loan repairers. Suggestion According to this study, linking insurance and loan programs is also one of the policies that can be used to achieve full repayment of installments of facilities received. In addition to the above, due to the importance of the variable level of education in full repayment of installments of facilities received, the policy of promoting knowledge and information can be implemented in the target community, and in this regard, by cooperating with extension groups of Jihad Agricultural Organization to inform farmers in Especially the importance of timely and complete payment of installments of the received facilities and its effect on the bank's ability to provide more appropriate facilities in the future. Finally, in order to reduce credit risk and based on the obtained results, suggestions are made in the field of speeding up the lending process, connecting insurance and loan programs, closely monitoring the account turnover program and paying attention to people's credit history.

Introduction: Dairy products including, milk and yogurt are wealthy in protein, fat, sugar, calcium and vitamins, therefore, playing a noteworthy part within the well-being and cleanliness of the society and have a major extent of each household’, s food basket. The unavoidable importance of milk and dairy products for the individual health has put everlasting consideration on the production and consumption of these products on the face of the policy makers and future planners of each nation. The demand of these products depends on multiple factors. The most relevant factors are population, income, taste preferences, nutrition facts, health preferences, and trademark acknowledgment. Hence, the main object of this study is to investigate the effects of milk and yogurt nutrition attributes on household’, s demand in Tabriz city. Data and Methods: In this study, the Random Coefficients Logit model was applied to estimate the demand of differential products of milk and yogurt. The Berry, Levinsohn and Pakes (1995) (BLP) method was utilized to capture the products attributes and household characters which affect the milk and yogurt demands. The required data was collected by questionnaire sampling in 10 different blocks of Tabriz based on proportional stratified random sampling in 2019. Moreover other information as scan data was gathered from main and chain retailer grocery stores. We considered the price and four attributes of milk and yogurt including amount of sugar, fat, protein, trans-fatty acid and four demographic characters including: age, income, education, child under 6 years old and some healthy consideration. Finally, three hypotheses are proposed here to analyze the impact of three important aspects, namely health preferences, cultural and taste preferences, and personal properties and priorities, in the demand of these two dairy products-milk and yogurt. The most seven brans of milk and yogurt including Koohsaran, Kalleh, Ashayer, Soutchilar, Mihan, Damdaran and Pegah were considered with deferent packing and size. Results and Discussion: The results showed that milk and yogurt attributes including fat, protein, and sugar have altogether significantly positive impact on the average utility of people so that the desirability of customers for purchasing the products increase (decreases) commensurately to the increment (diminish) of these properties. So, this indicates that the customers lean toward taste over to health considerations. However, the results of this study point out that considering the demographic parameters reduces the influence of the mentioned properties. For instance, the utility of consuming high-fat milks decreases among households with higher education, age, and income and increases in households with children under six years old. In the case of yogurt, the households with higher income and children under six years old get more utility while whereas by increasing age of individuals this utility is going down. Also, level of education and children under six years old and some observation factors such as special illness or diet lead to rising the utility of high protein yogurt consumption whereas it falls by increasing age and income. The own-and cross-price elasticity of the seven brands revealed that the all own price elasticities were negative and less than one and the Pegah has the most elasticity. Conclusion: The results indicate that for both milk and a yogurt product, the price parameter has negative affect on the average utility of households. Moreover, this falling utility intensify by expanding the number children under 6 years old and considering perception components. In this manner, the economics components have critical roll on milk and yogurt consumption and so the policy makers should address this mater on the food security programing. The founding shows that the individuals incline toward taste and preference over to health considerations, hence it ought to consider within the society health arranging and endeavor to progress it.

Introduction The adaptation of the same water resources management policies in a plain or watershed due to the heterogeneity of its areas generally leads to a reduction in the effectiveness of policies. Hence, the evaluation of the adaptability of different areas of the study area with water resources protection policies can be important and necessary. As a whole, our literature review generally shows that there seem to be no empirical studies that have attempted to consider the economic, demographic, environmental, communication, educational, and cultural criteria in evaluating the adaptability of rural districts of plains or watersheds to groundwater protection policies in the national and international levels. Due to this importance, the aim of the current study is to evaluate the adaptability of rural districts of Neyshabour plain to groundwater protection policies by considering the mentioned criteria. The results of the current study provide valuable information to adopt more comprehensive polices for the protection of groundwater resources in the Neyshabour plain. Furthermore, the findings of this research can be used to simulate economic, social, and environmental models for the case study. Materials and Methode The research methodology of this study consists of three main parts. In the first part, economic, demographic, environmental, educational, and cultural, as well as communication criteria and sub-criteria are selected based on the opinions of experts and the results of previous studies. In the second step, the weights of the criteria and sub-criteria are determined using Chang's fuzzy AHP method. In the next step, the status of each of the rural districts in the Neyshabour plain based on the studied index is determined using a multi-criteria decision-making method (PROMETHEE). The data required for this study are collected from the Statistics Center of Iran, Khorasan Razavi Regional Water Authority, the Khorasan Razavi Agriculture –,Jihad organization. In addition, the required data on the average income of farmers in each rural district are collected through face-to-face interviews with farmers in 2017. Results and discussion The results of this study indicate that most of rural districts in the case study are deprived of access to the educational and cultural as well as communication facilities. Moreover, the level of literacy of farmers in this area is very low. All these factors can be considered an obstacle to the proper implementation of water resources management policies in this area. The results show that economic and environmenral ctritera with weights of 40 and 19%, respectively, are of higher importance compared to other criteria in the adaptability index. According to the results of this study, three the rural districts of Ardoghsh, Mazol, and Zeberkhan have a higher adaptability to groundwater protection policies than other the rural districts of plain, and the rural districts of Ghazali, Eshghabad, and Belherat are in the final ranks. Suggestion In order to increase the cooperation of farmers in the southern and western rural districts of the plain with groundwater conservation programs, it is suggested to use appropriate training and incentive policies as complementary policies in these areas. Also, the implementation of supportive policies that lead to an increase in farmers' incomes in region, can play an important role in increasing the cooperation of farmers with water resources management policies.

Introduction The nomads’,main livelihood is based on traditional pastoralism activities in the Middle East and North Africa, 34% of the total lands in those areas are natural rangelands. However, about 61% of rangelands in the Middle East and North Africa are of medium to low quality. While traditional pastoral activities have positive effects on nomadic livelihoods and livestock, natural rangelands and natural resource-based livelihoods are under pressure due to external disturbances such as climate change. Sensitivity of traditional pastoral systems to climate diversity and change has increased through human activities. Excessive dependence of nomadic households on natural rangelands and their unsustainable exploitation due to overgrazing has led to significant destruction of these natural resources and the spread of desertification in arid and semi-arid regions. To increase the resilience of nomads exposed to climate and non-climate risks, targeted programs and policies need to be formulated using the concepts of assets, strategy, and livelihood outcomes. Despite several studies on livelihood vulnerability to climate change and sustainable livelihood frameworks in developing countries, most studies have focused on farming households and information on nomadic livelihoods is not enough in developing countries. In addition, studies on the livelihood strategies of nomads under climatic and non-climatic risks are low or insufficient. Without accurate information, it is very difficult to improve the welfare of nomads and their resilience to climatic and non-climatic risks. Some research examines livelihood strategies and their effects on household resilience however, it is not yet clear to what extent expectations of economic and environmental sustainability are met through livelihood strategies. In this regard, this study was aimed to determine the effects of assets and livelihood strategies on the economic status of nomads and rangeland environmental conditions. Materials and Methods To evaluate economic and environmental sustainability based on assets and livelihood strategies, appropriate rules were initially extracted by using the decision tree algorithm. Subsequently, these rules were fuzzy and used in the fuzzy inference system (FIS). It should be noted that the input and output variables of the Mamdani-based fuzzy inference system must be continuous, or discontinuous variables that have sequential values. Thus, the sequential values of these continuous and discontinuous variables can be converted to fuzzy linguistic values. In this study, the livelihood strategy variable is a discontinuous variable that has non-sequential values (nominal variable). Therefore, to consider the variable of livelihood strategies in the fuzzy inference system, two alternative continuous variables were used, including the share of livestock in total income and per capita forage consumption. Other input variables of the FIS include three human, natural, and physical assets. Fuzzy logic can predict the economic status of nomads and the environmental conditions of their rangelands as model outputs based on specific inputs, including household assets and livelihood strategies (replaced by the share of livestock in total income and per capita forage consumption). The fuzzy inference system executes most of the model inputs and outputs by four units, including fuzzification, fuzzy rules, inference engine, and defuzzification. Linguistic values have been used to fuzzy the input and output variables of the FIS. Both triangular and trapezoidal membership functions have been used to construct membership functions. Fuzzy logic can combine all the basic linguistic rules for a fuzzy model. Results and discussion At the beginning, the appropriate rules extracted from the decision tree model are used in the FIS. Out of a total of 25 rules obtained, 14 rules are related to economic status and 11 rules are related to environmental conditions. In front of each rule, two criteria of confidence and support are given. As an example, rule number one is 100% confident and is supported by six sample households. The maximum and minimum confidence criteria for the extracted rules were 100% and 35%, respectively. Also, their maximum and minimum support criteria were 125 and six households, respectively. For example, rule number one indicates that if 0. 14

Introduction One of the effective factors in improving water use productivity and shortening the time required to complete plant growth is proper agricultural management practices such as changing planting methods. In many parts of the world, with proper management of agriculture, efforts are being made to increase agricultural production, and changing the planting method can be one of these factors. Corn is the third strategic crop in the agricultural sector after wheat and rice, because in addition to providing energy for poultry, it is a raw material in industrial production, including the production of various edible oils. Materials and Methods In this research, in order to investigating of economic evaluation of seedling and hydropriming cultivation methods in comparison with conventional cultivation of corn seeds, this study was carried out as split plot factorial experiment based on randomized complete block design with three replications at Seed and Plant Improvement Institute (SPII) in 2017 and 2018. The experiment included four planting dates (1 July, 10 July, 20 July, 1 August) in main plot, three planting methods (seed planting, seed hydropriming, transplanting) and two hybrids (KSC 260 and KSC 704) as factorial in sub plots. In this research, for economic analysis used Partial budgeting Method, benefit and cost analysis, marginal net benefit of treatments and the percent of sale return. Results and Discussion According to the results, the mean of yield in seed planting treatment and with KSC 704 cultivar under planting date until 20 July was 12245. 7 kg/ha during experiment years. In seed planting, the sale return of corn grain of 704 cultivar on the 1 July compared to the 10 July and the sale return of corn grain of 260 on the 1 July compared to the 20 July was 7. 5 and 17. 9% more profit, respectively. In hydropriming cultivation methods, the sale return of corn grain of 704 cultivar on the 1 July compared to the 10 July and the sale return of corn grain of 260 on the 1 July compared to the 20 July was 6. 3 and 15. 1% more profit, respectively. In transplanting methods, the sale return of corn grain of 704 and 260 cultivars on the 1 July compared to the 20 July was 154 and 95. 7% more profit, respectively. In 1 July planting date, the sale return of corn grain of 704 in seed planting to the hydropriming and transplanting cultivation methods was 3. 4 and 46. 2% more profit, respectively. But, the sale return of corn grain of 260 in seed planting to the hydropriming and transplanting cultivation methods was 9. 9 and 141. 9% more profit, respectively. Means of net income of seed planting treatment with KSC 704 cultivar under planting date until 20 July was estimated 123. 6 Iranian million rial /ha. Sale return of grain maize in this treatment was estimated %70. 2, that is more than treatment. Thus, seed planting with 704 cultivar in planting date 20 July as the first priority suggested in target region. Suggestion It is suggested that corn farmers, based on the results of research conducted in the regions, produce corn-grain with methods and planting date that has the highest yield and profitability based on agronomy and economic.

Introduction: One of the serious challenges in inter-basin water transfer projects is the environmental, economic, social and political consequences of its implementation. Materials and Method: The purpose of the study is to identify and prioritize the consequences of the inter-basin water transfer project of Aras River to Lake Urmia in Moghan plain using the opinions of experts and specialists related to the water basin. Therefore, in this regard, the questionnaire was used to identify the effective consequences from three perspectives: environmental, economic and socio-political, entropy and TOPSIS techniques were used to calculate their weight and prioritize. Results and discussion: Analysis of the findings of the study by completing 30 questionnaires received, has identified 28 consequences from environmental, economic and socio-political aspects to evaluate the inter-basin water transfer plan of the study area, which includes 16 environmental consequences. There were four economic consequences and seven socio-political consequences. The results of weighting the consequences of inter-basin water transfer projects of Aras River to Lake Urmia in Moghan plain using entropy technique showed that from the environmental point of view, the consequence of reducing available water, the economic point of view, the consequence of increasing agricultural land loss and necessity food imports and the socio-political consequence of increasing the lack of attention to social water rights have the highest weight among other consequences. Also, the results of TOPSIS method showed that the most important consequences of water transfer from Aras River to Lake Urmia in Moghan plain include environmental, socio-political and economic consequences, respectively. Suggestion: it is suggested that before implementing inter-basin water transfer projects, the environmental, economic and social consequences should be examined by organizations related to the water basin to reduce the amount of future damage caused by it.