Identification and Analysis of the Barriers of Nanotechnology Development in the Iranian Agricultural Sector from the Viewpoint of the Researchers

The main objective of this study was to identify and analyze the barriers to nanotechnology development in the Iranian agricultural sector. The type of research method of this study was Descriptive-Correlative research. The statistical population of the study consisted of all the researchers of National Research Institutes and Centers from among whom 120 were selected for the study. A questionnaire was used to collect the data and a panel of experts established the validity of the questionnaire. A pilot study was conducted to establish the reliability of the instrument. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the main scales of the questionnaire was higher than 0.7 showing that it had an acceptable level of reliability. Exploratory factor analysis was used to identify the factors creating barriers to nanotechnology development in the Iranian agricultural sector. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were also used to determine the goodness fit index of the research model. The results showed that the barriers to nanotechnology development in the Iranian agricultural sector included five independent factors, namely infrastructural, political, informational, legal and financial.