Exploratory analysis of the economic needs of rural communities according to key informants: A case study of Yazd Province (Case Study: Yazd Province)

One of the most important reasons for the inefficiency of rural development programs in developing countries such as Iran is the lack of attention to local needs and capabilities, especially in the field of rural economy, and the dictating of the same program for all the villages in the country. The purpose of this study is to provide an exploratory analysis of the economic needs of rural communities based on the views of key informants. The research is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive-analytical in terms of the data collection and analysis. The data were obtained from questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The statistical population of the study consisted of local agents in Yazd Province including managers and the elite as well as rural households. The data analysis was done in two qualitative and quantitative sections. Content analysis method was used in the qualitative part using the MAXQUDA software, and a t-test and Friedman and W. Kendall test in the quantitative part. Based on the results in the qualitative section, 34 economic needs were identified in the form of 9 indicators. The percentage of the repetition of these indices indicates that the employment index (17.89%) is the most frequent need in the province. The results of the quantitative part of the research also show that the employment index with a statistic of 8.33 and the income index with a statistic of 7.66 are the most important needs of the rural economy in the province, which should be given a priority in development plans.