A Model of an Agricultural Knowledge and Information System for Peasant Smallholdings: The Case of Sistan and Baluchistan Province, Iran

The agricultural knowledge and information system (AKIS) is a necessary factor for social, economic, and agricultural development and decision-making in peasant smallholdings. Given the challenges in smallholders’ access, the present study aimed to design an efficient model for AKIS for peasant smallholdings in Sistan and Baluchistan province, Iran. The research adopted a descriptive methodology in which data were collected with a questionnaire whose validity was estimated by AVE and its reliability was determined by the CR method. The statistical population was composed of all experts and executives in the fields of agricultural research, education, and extension and the subject experts in the studied province (N=497). The sample size was determined to be 217 using Cochran’s formula. The data were analyzed by SEM and using PLS and SPSS software packages. The results as to the factor loadings of the subcomponents derived from structural equation modeling show that “increasing information sources”, “farm visits”, “strengthening service centers”, “less consistency of research findings”, and “the existence of agricultural service centers” had the highest factor loadings, so they have a significant effect on the knowledge and information system model for peasant smallholdings.