Analyzing the Effects of Using Information and Communication Resources on Implementation of Good Agriculture Practices (GAPs) by Strawberry Growers of Kurdistan Province

Food safety is considered a serious challenge due to the increase in the world population and efforts to increase agricultural activities. Good agricultural practices are one of the recognized standards for achieving high-quality food safety. The purpose of this descriptive research was to analyze the effects of using information and communication resources on the implementation of Good Agriculture Practices (GAPs). The statistical population of the study was strawberry growers in Marivan and SarvAbad counties (N=241). The sample size was determined via the Krejcie and Morgan table (n=174). The sampling was carried out using proportional stratified random sampling process. The research instrument was a questionnaire. The face and content validity of the questionnaire was evaluated and verified by the panel of experts. The reliability of the questionnaire was confirmed by calculating Cronbach’s alpha and composite reliability (CR) coefficients. For data analysis, AMOS23 and SPSS23 software were employed. Research findings showed that oral (path coefficient: 0.30) and written (path coefficient: 0.28) resources had positive and significant effects on applying GAPs by strawberry growers; so that these resources could explain about 35% variance in the implementation of GAPs. Based on the results, it is suggested to consider the possibility of more use of information resources by strawberry growers by using face-to-face and applicable communication channels.