Investigating the Strategies for Strengthening Pastoralists' Economic Power Based on Economic Analysis of Traditional Animal Husbandary (Case Study: Summer Rangelands of Sajjadoodh-Mazandaran Province Rangelands)

Traditional animal husbandry has the highest share in the exploitation of the country rangelands. Although more than half of the forage required for livestock is supplied from sources other than grazing in rangelands, most pastoralists believe that traditional livestock husbandry is not economically justified in Iran. Therefore, the current study is a step towards economic analysis of animal husbandry activity, which is dependent on the forage of summer rangelands of Sajjadroodwatershed in Babol during a season of the year. Data related to economic analysis was completed based on a survey method and a questionnaire. The statistical population consisted of three allotments with range management plans and three allotments without any range plans. Using the Cochran formula, 82 ranchers were selected as needed samples for this research. In this study, the net profits of ranchers from livestock activities and other socio-economic factors affecting ranchers' income were investigated. The results showed that the profit/cost ratio of traditional husbandry activity was 1.41 and had economic justification. However, there were no significant differences between the profitability of the rangelands with and without plans and between the ranchers with small, medium and large numbers of livestock. In 2016, average net profits per head of each livestock in rangelands with and without plans were 29477.63 and 22130 Rials, respectively that were not statistically significant. According to the results, it was suggested that the best way to improve pastoralists' economic power was providing subsidized forage, low-interest banking facilities, changing in livestock breeding, and establishing pastoral cooperative companies.