فصلنامه پژوهشهای روستایی
سال هشتم شماره 4 (پیاپی 32، زمستان 1396)

The agricultural sector is so vast that it is practically impossible to achieve its developmental macro goals without farmer's cooperation as cooperatives. Establishing and developing such enterprises is one of the world's today essentials in current global economy. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify the factors affecting the performance of rural cooperatives in Savadkooh County, Mazandaran Province, Iran. The current study has used a surveying methodology. Data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire which its validity was verified by a group of experts and the reliability of the questions was tested using the Cronbach's α test for different parts of the questionnaire and the average calculated α value was 0.87 . The statistical population of the study included two groups of cooperative's members (N=10257) and rural cooperative's boards (N=69). The sample size was determined as 376 and 56, respectively for cooperatives’ members and boards by using Krejcie and Morgan Table. Then the samples were selected by a randomized proportional sampling method. In order to analyze data, both correlation coefficients like Spearman and Pearson and stepwise multiple regression were used. According to the results, the variables recognizing the cooperative's tasks and objectives, sympathy between members and boards, supports and contributions of State Cooperative's Administration, relationship between the rural cooperatives and other related organizations, the existence of a strong rural cooperative's union in the region, participation among the members, and legal governmental supports had a positive and significant effect on the performance of rural cooperatives in Savadkooh County.

One of the strategies for rural development is promoting agro-industries in rural areas. Also agro-industries can create sustainable rural livelihoods. Agro-industry refers to any activity involved in cultivation plus under controlled conditions of agricultural and horticultural crops. Development of agro-industries is considered important in the economic planning and development of countries. Promoting and supporting family agro-industry livelihood systems could provide alternative livelihood opportunities for rural people and enhance the possibility of local development. This descriptive-analytical research aims to analyze the effects of agro-industry on the improvement of livelihood assets of agro-industry members in Khuzestan Province. Using Cronbach α, the reliability of questionnaire was calculated as 0.92. A confirmatory factor analysis and the structural equation model using the LISREL were performed to measure different effects of agro-industry on sustainable livelihoods assets. According to the applied LISREL, the main findings were as follows: AGFI=0.90, GFI=0.98, NNFI=0.97, CFI=0.98, and RMSEA=0.066 and 1.51. Results revealed that out of these five resources, natural capital was the strongest one affecting respondents’ livelihoods in the study area (λ=0.90). The results show that the measurement model fit is appropriate and acceptable.

Considering the role of agricultural cooperatives on rural and agricultural development, identifying and analyzing the factors affecting the performance of cooperatives, especially with regard to entrepreneurship are essential. The purpose of this article is to study the effect(s) of entrepreneurship on agricultural cooperatives performance. The study population consisted of poultry cooperatives members of Kermanshah Province, Iran (N=1012). Of them, a sample of 220 respondents was selected using Cochran's formula by stratified random sampling method. To collect data, a researcher-made questionnaire was used. The validity of the questionnaire was determined by faculty members of universities of Tehran, Lorestan and agricultural cooperatives experts in Kermanshah Province. The Cronbach α was used to estimate the questionnaire reliability, which was found to be acceptable (α2=0.88, α3=0.80). The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, using SPSS20. The results revealed that entrepreneurship had a Sig.nificant and positive effect on the performance of cooperatives. Also, the multivariate regression analysis with stepwise method showed that Regression to go three steps forward and about 37% of the changes be explained. Therefore, we recommend that managers of the agricultural cooperatives take measures to develop and promote entrepreneurship component in their cooperatives to achieve sustainable rural development.

Commuting between rural and urban areas is one of the most important and most remarkable forms of incorporation and integration of rural and urban areas. It is a new spatial phenomenon emerging in most developing and developed countries. In this regard, the present study aims to spatially analyze the rural floating population employed in urban areas of Iran. The study data were extracted from the 2011 General Population and Housing Census. The spatial scale is analyzed at county level and the methodology is mainly exploratory. The results show that the share of rural labor force employed in urban areas in 2011 was 12.8%. However, its distribution is not uniform across the provinces and the provinces of Mazandaran, Tehran and Khorasan Razavi have the highest floating rate. Based on the results of exploratory spatial data analysis, three main focal points of rural floating population, including Tehran metropolitan region, Esfahan metropolitan region and southwest of the country with a focus on Bushehr were identified. Concentration and diversification of economic activities, industries and services are a major factor that can explain the formation process of the main centers of commuting from rural to urban areas.

Natural resources are considered to be essential elements of human life for fulfilling necessary needs, such as food, clothing and housing. However, the effort to addressing basic needs, to some extent, causes to creates conflict among stakeholders of natural resources stakeholders, which leads to adverse effects on their livelihoods. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the conflict pattern among relevant actors, and to analyze the impact of this conflict on the rural communities. A multiple case study methodology with multiple units of analysis was utilized conducted in the Dorahan and Cheshme Ali Watersheds, located in the Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province, Iran. The data were collected using qualitative techniques such as observation, semi-structured interviews, focus groups, mapping and Venn diagrams. The data were finally analyzed using the Conflict Pattern Assessment (CPA) technique. The results showed that the external actors and local communities, including rural and nomadic people had different interests in the watersheds, which caused conflicts among them. The most important consequences of these conflicts have been weakening of rural household's livelihoods, increasing rural – urban emigration and decreasing social capital. Despite the negative impacts, the conflict has had some short- term positive impacts on improving rangelands vegetation due to prohibiting rural livestock from early grazing.

Good governance is a new concept introduced in the world management literature in recent decades and is defined as a mediator between governments and civil societies. In this regard, rural governance is a new system with different principles, cannons, and indicators from the former rural system that result in the empowerment of rural areas’ residents in different dimensions. However, the establishment of village municipality “Village Administrations” was a turning point towards the rural people governance in rural management of Iran. These institutions are derived from and related to rural people and expected to act on the basis of good rural governance. Therefore, this article investigates and evaluates the performance of “Village Administrations” within the framework of good governance in rural areas of Isfahan central parts. The study is an applied research, with a descriptive-analytical method based on survey. The data were collected using library and field research method. The results from variance analyses showed that regarding good governance indicators, there is a statistically significant difference between rural management organizations under study (P

Land is one of the key resources in the agricultural sector. Estimation of the land actual price and its determinants are crucial for its proper management and agricultural development. Therefore, in this study, agricultural land value of Orzouiye County was estimated using the hedonic method. The required data are collected by 138 questionnaires and face to face interviews with farmers of Orzouiye County during 2013-2014. Results showed that the distance from the land to downtown (Baft City), the distance from the land to the main road and the land use percentages had negative and significant effect on agricultural land value of Orzouiye County, but the area under cultivation, the fertility and quality of the farm’s soil and investment amount in the land have positive and significant effect on the price of agricultural land. All together, the price of each hectare of agricultural land in Orzouiye County was estimated as 1412 million IRR.

Among road users, motorcyclists are called the most high-risk drivers. In Iran, the number of motorcyclists killed accounts for 23.8% of all traffic deaths. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the factors influencing farmers’ intention toward using helmet when driving motorcycle. The study applied Health Beliefs Model (HBM) and a modified Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), with self-identity and habit as two new and additional determinants of intention. The study instrument was a face-to-face survey (N=220) undertaken in Shushtar district, in southwestern Iran. The reliability and validity of the instrument were already examined and approved. The obtained data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling. Self-efficacy in HBM and self-identity, perceived behavioral control and habit in TPB were found to be significant predictors of intention, while attitude and subjective norms were not. The findings of this study provided preliminary support for the HBM and an extended model being used as an effective framework for examining helmet use among Iranian farmers.