Identifying the Effects of Olive Cultivation on Sustainable Rural Development: Case Study of Rural Area in the City of Rijab, Kermanshah Province, Iran

This study aimed to identify the effects of olive cultivation on sustainable rural development (SRD) in the city of Rijab, located in Dalahu County, Kermanshah Province, Iran. The study population in the qualitative part included the outstanding and leading farmers, the experts of the Agricultural Jihad Organization, and the specialists in the research subject in the city of Rijab. These study samples were thus selected purposively, via the snowball sampling technique. The statistical population of the study in the quantitative part was comprised of 370 olive farmers in the city of Rijab and seven affiliated villages (in 2021 year), that 209 of thom selected using proportional stratified random sampling (based on the size of each village). The data collection tool in the qualitative part was individual semi-structured interviews along with group discussions. In the quantitative part, a questionnaire was administered for data collection. Directed content analysis was further utilized to identify the effects and consequences of olive cultivation on SRD in the city of Rijab. Then, statistical methods and confirmatory factor analysis, based on the SPSS and PLS software packages, were employed to prioritize the given effects and consequences. The study findings identified the effects of olive cultivation on SRD in three main factors, viz. social, economic, and environmental. Moreover, a total of 17 strategies were established for developing olive cultivation in the rural areas of the city of Rijab. Other findings demonstrated that (1) increasing tendency to remain in the agricultural sector; (2) improving social welfare among farmers' households; and (3) augmenting the value and status of agribusinesses were among the most important social effects of olive cultivation on SRD. Besides, (1) achieving stable, permanent income; (2) boosting seasonal employment rates among indigenous people, and (3) improving the value of agricultural lands in the region, were the major economic effects of olive cultivation on SRD. Finally, the study results indicated that (1) preventing water and wind erosion in agricultural lands, (2) managing soil salinity, and (3) improving the climate in the region were the most significant environmental effects of olive cultivation on SRD.