Economic Valuation of Peanut Production Inputs in Guilan Province

Extended Abstract
Introduction and

The high nutritional value and applications of oilseeds such as peanuts in the food industry have increased attention to the production status of these products. The Peanut is one of the valuable oilseeds, which is considered unique in terms of oil and protein percentage. Features, such as a short cultivation period, small investment, and suitable income generation for the villagers, the cultivation of this product is very attractive for farmers. Due to the climatic, geographical conditions, and long history in Guilan province, this activity has many capacities for development. The present research aim is to achieve the functional form of the correct production of peanut cultivation and the economic evaluation of the inputs used in the production process of this product.

The present research is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive survey in terms of research method. This research was conducted in Astana Ashrafieh city, the main hub of peanut production in Guilan province. The sample size was determined using Cochran's formula, equal to 119 people. The main tool for collecting information in this research is a questionnaire. After preparing the list of almond farmers in this city by using a simple random sampling method, the required data was collected. To determine the correct functional form, first, 5 Cobb-Douglas, Transcendental, Translog, Quadratic, and generalized Leontief functional forms were estimated, and finally, the generalized Leontief model was selected as the best model.

The amount of partial elongation showed that chemical pesticides have the greatest effect, and chemical fertilizers have the least effect on changes in peanut yield. Also, the results of fitting the Leontief function confirmed the finding that the amount of peanut production factors in Guilan province is within the second production area. The economic value of machinery inputs calculated as 491112 rials, labor force 122285 rials, chemical poisons 53742 rials and chemical fertilizers 29679 rials. The results showed that the estimated economic value for different production inputs is very different from the market value.

All four factors of production have a partial elasticity of less than one, which indicates that the amount of production factors used in working almonds is optimal and the almond farmers of Guilan province produce within the limits of the second district. Due to the significant production elasticity of machinery input, it is recommended that the development of mechanization in peanut farming is one of the policy priorities in this province.