Identifying and Classifying the Opportunities for Starting Agribusinesses: A Delphi Method Study

Given that agriculture is the second economic resource of Iran; therefore, the development of agribusinesses can increase productivity, value creation, and social welfare in society. In this regard, considering that identifying opportunities is one of the important stages of the entrepreneurship development process, the present study was conducted with the aim of identifying and categorizing opportunities for starting agribusinesses in Masjed-Soleiman County. This qualitative research was performed using the Delphi technique. The members of the Delphi panel included 20 agricultural experts and entrepreneurs in Masjed-Soleiman County, who were purposefully selected using the snowball technique. Data analysis was performed using content analysis methods, continuous comparison and also, calculation of frequency distribution tables, agreement percentage and Kendall coefficient in the form of SPSS software version 27. After three rounds, 30 opportunities to start agribusinesses were identified in Masjed-Soleiman County. After rewiring the nature and origin, the opportunities identified in the four categories of "opportunities in the field of agriculture and horticulture", "opportunities in the field of animal and aquatic sciences", "opportunities for design and packaging of agricultural products" and "opportunities for production and processing of agricultural products" Were classified. The results of the ranking showed that "cultivation of medicinal plants", "fish farming in the margins of Masjed-Soleiman dams in cages", "packaging of livestock products such as curd and other similar products" and "processing of medicinal plants" are the most important opportunities for starting agricultural businesses in The city was Masjed-Soleiman County.