Factors Affecting Students’ Intention towards Forming Agricultural Cooperatives: The Case of Agricultural and Natural Resources College of Lorestan University

Unemployment of agricultural and natural resources graduates is one of the challenges that can be solved to some extent by forming agricultural cooperatives. Agricultural cooperatives in the various fields of production, distribution of inputs, conversion and processing, and marketing of agricultural products will have the necessary potential to create employment for agricultural graduates. The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors affecting the behavioral intention of agricultural students towards forming agricultural cooperatives using the theory of planned behavior (TPB). The statistical population was all undergraduate students of agricultural and natural resources college of Lorestan University in the academic year 1400. Using Cochran's formula, 363 students were determined as the sample size. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire whose validity and reliability were confirmed by content validity and Cronbach's alpha coefficient, respectively. Data analysis was performed using SPSS and PLS software. The results showed that the behavioral intention of students towards forming agricultural cooperatives is influenced by the variables of attitude, mental norms, and behavioral control, and those three variables are also affected by the three variables of behavioral beliefs, normative beliefs, and controlled beliefs, respectively. According to the results, the effect of students' behavioral beliefs, normative beliefs and controlled beliefs on their attitude, subjective beliefs and perceived behavioral control towards the formation of agricultural cooperatives is significant. Also, the three variables of attitude, mental beliefs, and perceived behavioral control have a significant effect on students' behavioral intention towards forming agricultural cooperatives. Those three variables explained 62.7 percent of the variance of students' intention variable. The achievements of this research can guide cooperative planners and those in charge of the employment of students in the field of agriculture and natural resources.