Mechanisms to Improve Farmer’s Access to Organic Farming Services (A Case in Qom Province)

Agrisulture has been changed through the centuries so that in the recent decades more chemichals are used for improving farm productivity. This trend has been criticized by many experts because using more external inputs damages the environment. In order to cope with this problem, some solutions were introduced and applied by different countries. Organic farming is one of promising solutions which is based on reducing use of external inputs and moreattention to organic matter, green manure and biological control of pests and diseases. Organic faming has substantial capacity and potential to fulfill food needs of international society thorough sustainable use of resources.This system is known as one of the most sustainable farming system which meet both objectvives of food security and sustainability simultaneousely.success of organic farming system depends on some prerequisites out of which access to organic inputs and specific services are very important.Organic farming services needs to be provided by government or private sector to the farmers. It includes consultancy, education, information, farm inputs and enabling regulations specefically in the area of certification of produce and standardization of farming processes.Farmers face some barriers to get access to these services. In order to extend organic farming these services should be easily delivered to farming communities and the barriers should be removed by applying appropriate mechanisms. The present study was conducted with the aim of identifying and analyzing mechanisms to improve farmers’ access to organic farming services in Qom province. The statistical population of this study consisted of 16000 farmers, out of which 262 people were selected and interviewed as sample using Cochran formula and proportionate stratified random sampling technique. A questionnaire was used for data gathering. Validity of the instrument was approved by a panel judgment of experts and faculty members in University of Tehran. Its reliability was approved using Cronbach alpha coefficient (α=0.75). LISRELwin8.5 and SPSSwin18 software were used to analyze the data. Confirmatory factor analysis was applied to determine weights of each mechanism and categorize them.  The results revealed that among mechanisms to improve farmer’s access to organic farming services, advisory-guidance services, improving farmer’s capabilities to access organic farming inputs, access to credit and information-communication services play an important role. In the process of getting access to consulting and advisory services farmers can contact with village and farm extension workers to learn how to use organic agricultural inputs. This counseling and guidance services increase farmers' awareness and knowledge on organic farming and through this mechanism they get familiar with related actors in private sector. Given the importance of providing advisory and guidance services to farmers who are interested in transitioning from conventional to organic farming, it is recommended that the regional organizations develop and implement a plan to provide these services. It is important to encourage engineering-consulting companies as well as the private sector to provide these services, which can, of course, be in the form of annual contracts with farmers and field audit. At least, a part of this plan should include training courses for farmers in the area of organic farming. It is also recommended that credit institutions and banks, especially agricultural banks, adopt low interest lines to support the development of organic farming.  According to the fitness indices, the model for measuring the mechanisms for improving the access of farmers to services and the production of organic products were valid and acceptable. The indicators of each construct were identified and introduced by referring to the coefficients.