The study of the factors affecting the development of mechanization of rice cultivation in Guilan province by Delphi technique

A Delphi study was conducted in three phases to identify the driving and inhibiting factors of the development of mechanized cultivation of rice in Guilan province. After consultation with professors and researchers in related institutions, 30 experts from the agricultural organization of Guilan province and its subsidiary offices as well as faculty members of agricultural research centers of Guilan province were identified and selected for the study. Results showed that “The development of infrastructures such as increasing the number of transplanting banks” with the acquisition of 97.5% of the final agreement of mechanization experts and “Improve the machinery’s after-sales services, especially for imported machines and equipments with 95.8% of experts agreement were the most driving factors for the development of paddy fields mechanization in Guilan province. The Delphi study of inhibiting factors also indicated that “the small and scattered paddy fields” with acquisition of 97.5% of the experts agreement and “Low price of milled rice” with acquisition of 92.5% of experts agreement were the top inhibiting factors of the development of rice mechanized cultivation in Guilan province.