Analysis of Agricultural Production Cooperatives in Achieving Sustainable Development in Agriculture Sector

The objective of the present study was analysis of agricultural production cooperatives in achieving sustainable development in agriculture. The statistical population of the study consisted of active members of agricultural production cooperatives in Karaj city (N=1354). 168 individuals were selected using Cochran sampling formula. The main research instrument was a questionnaire that its validity was obtained by a panel of experts and its reliability was confirmed by Cronbach''s alpha coefficient (α>0. 7). The data were gathered at a given time in 2014. Data analysis was performed using the SPSSwin18. The results showed that components of the studied cooperatives do not have perfect knowledge regarding to sustainable development. Also، factor analysis classified the role of agricultural production cooperatives to reach sustainable development into some factors including improving the utilization system، soil conservation and restoration of the degraded agricultural lands، increasing income and economic ability of producers، self-sufficiency and food security، enhancing the biological production and biodiversity، management of plant pests and diseases، and conservation and sustainable use of plant and animal genetic resources. Besides، obstacles of sustainable development in the agricultural sector were classified into the Socio – economic، infrastructure، natural resources – environmental and technological factors.