Identification and prioritization of factors affecting citrus losses in northern provinces of Iran by the AHP method

To rank the factors affecting waste in the citrus production cycle in three northern provinces include, Guilan, Mazandaran, and Golestan, first of all using the literature review and consulting with experts in four stages: cultivation, harvesting, post-harvest, and the market as the main criteria and 17 effective factors (4 sub-criteria in cultivation, four sub-criteria inharvesting, five sub-criteria in post-harvesting, four sub-criteria in market) as sub-criteria were identified. The questionnaires were designed as pairwise comparisons and by targeted sampling method completed by face-to-face interviews with 10 experts. Data were analyzed using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). The results showed that among the main criteria, the most effective stage in the citrus losses was the stage of cultivation by weight of 0.542. After that, from the expert's point of view, the post-harvest stage by weight of 0.284, the harvest stage by weight of 0.129, and the market stage by 0.045 are in the next rank. In comparing and ranking the sub-criteria, the indicator of "Lack of timely and correct control of pests and diseases" by weight of 0.320 was identified as the most important factor in citrus losses. Afterward, the indicators of "lack of frost control" (0.156) in the second place, "Inappropriate stockrooms and cold storage" (0.134) in the third place, "Harvesting at the wrong time" (0.075) in the fourth place, and "Lack of suitable control of post-harvest diseases" (0.064) in the fifth-place, were ranked in importance respectively.