مجله پژوهشهای راهبردی در علوم کشاورزی و منابع طبیعی
سال ششم شماره 1 (بهار و تابستان 1400)

Development of processing industries of food and agricultural products leads to the development of the agricultural sector while reducing waste. In fact, the creation of processing industries is one of the most beneficial ways of interaction between the two sectors of industry and agriculture. Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing horticultural crops complementary and processing industries in Fars province through SWOT approach. This research, which is applied in terms of purpose and has implementation method, is descriptive-analytical. Also, the required data were collected through face-to-face interviews and completing a questionnaire with 20 agricultural industry experts in Fars province in 2019. According to the respondents, 15 strengths and 38 weaknesses were identified as the most important internal factors and 5 opportunities and 5 threats were identified as the most important external factors. The results showed that the horticultural crops processing and complementary industries were located in the fourth region of the matrix of internal-external factors and competitive strategy was the best strategy. In other words, the industries must be able to improve its strength and reduce the costs of the threat by turning it into an opportunity. Finally, based on the results of the quantitative strategic planning matrix, the most important strategy was the creation and expansion of knowledge-based companies in the studied industries. Therefore, in order to develop the horticultural crops complementary and processing industries in Fars province, it is necessary that the establishment and expansion of knowledge-based companies be among the priorities of policy and decision makers.

Iran agricultural production has raised from 21 to 118 million MT during a 4-decade period (1978-2018) which indicates a 5.6-fold growth. In 2018, crop production, horticultural production, livestock production and fishery & aquatic production were recorded 81, 21, 15 and 1 million MT, respectively. The mean efficiency of irrigation water in the agricultural section is 56% (fluctuates between 22.5 and 85.5%). Estimates show that Iran water resources in 2050 will be available to provide food for only 45 million people, unless agricultural water productivity improve substantially to provide sustainable food security for increasing population of the country. Furthermore, reducing food loss and waste, changing consumption pattern, water harvesting and importing food as virtual water would be necessary. Annual wind- and water-driven soil erosion exceed 2.3 billion MT which is equal to 13.8 t/ha soil. Lacking sufficient investment for infrastructures, high food loss and waste, insufficient agricultural research, incongruity for production, distribution and exchange of food and agricultural products and weak competitiveness of agricultural section are most important challenges of agriculture and natural resources of the country. Improvement of current paradigms, applying agricultural experts as well as investment on agricultural R&D are main tools to overcome the constraints and develop sustainable agriculture in Iran.

Iran with a long-term mean annual precipitation of 254 mm (210 mm in short-term of drought period), mean annual potential evaporation of more than 2000 mm, and dominance of arid and semi-arid climates over 85% of its area is located in one of the driest regions of the world. These factors have led to the dependence of most agricultural productions in Iran on the surface water and groundwater. In this article, based on the statistics and documents collected from the reliable sources, the current situation of agricultural water resources and uses in the country has been studied and analyzed. In addition, the adequacy of agricultural water resources under the current and future conditions, the position of the country in terms of water resources and uses in the world, pathology and solutions to get out of the current situation have been studied and analyzed. Examination of available documents shows that despite the increase in irrigation water efficiency and productivity in the field in recent years, lack of attention to climatic and water resources potentials and unplanned development of agricultural lands to meet the food needs of the country's growing population have led to overexploiting the surface water and groundwater resources, and hence, the destruction of aquifers. Reducing water use in agriculture along with increasing agricultural water productivity and implementing groundwater balance plans have been proposed as the key solutions to the existing challenges.

Iran is one of the leading countries in the world in production of many horticultural commodities such as pistachios, walnuts, almonds, apricots, apples, dates, grapes and others. In recent years, the areas under horticultural crops have increased, mainly due to high exchange rate and income as well as improvement in water consumption efficiency, the possibility of export and increasing demand. There is also a possibility of their sustainable development and production in the future. On the other hand, as the world's population grows, the need for food is increasing at an alarming rate. Using the latest statistics published by the Ministry of Agriculture Jihad and other sources, the present status of the horticultural products of each sub-sector of pomology in the years 2012 to 2018 were examined. From temperate zone fruits apple, pear, cherry, peach and apricot; from nut fruits pistachio, almond, walnut and hazelnut, from tropical and subtropical fruits dates and citrus, and from small fruits grapes and strawberries were selected. Considering that the coefficient of self-reliance of horticultural products, except for a small number of tropical fruits, is 100%, in this article, after presenting the statistics, the challenges of the current situation of pomology in the country are analyzed and approaches to overcome the problems of this sector of horticulture are suggested.

Iran is one of the leading producing countries in the world in some of exported agricultural products such as tomatoes and saffron. In recent years, the production of horticultural crops, especially greenhouse products in the country has been increasing. Due to high exchange rate and income and also high-water use efficiency, the possibility of export and increasing demand, there is a possibility of their sustainable development and production of these crops in the future. On the other hand, today, attention to vegetables due to the presence of compounds such as vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, to flowers and ornamental plants due to aesthetics and peace of mind of humans and herbal medicines due to low or lack of side effects, are increasing. Using the latest statistics published by the Iranian Ministry of Agriculture Jihad and other sources, production of vegetables, flowers, ornamentals and medicinal plants in the years from 2012 to 2018 were examined. From vegetables, potatoes, onions, tomatoes and cucurbits, from flowers and ornamental plants, cut flowers, pot plants, trees and shrubs, bedding plants and transplants, and from medicinal plants, Damask rose and saffron were selected and analyzed. In this article, after presenting the statistics, the problems of the current situation in each subsector are analyzed and finally, the most important challenges and opportunities facing these subsectors of horticulture are examined and solutions are suggested.

The focus of the countries on finding a higher economic growth leads to their neglect of the environment and its degradation. In this regard, the development of economic activities with the extraction of raw materials from natural resources and the environment will lead to the loss of environmental resilience ability and the increase of pollutants. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between the growth of industrial production and the amount of pollutants, especially carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. For this purpose, the Kuznets environmental curve and the data of the industrial units having ten or more employees for the period of 1967-2017 have been used. The results showed that if the value added of the industry sector changed by 1%, the carbon dioxide emission rate would increase by 2.38%, and with 1% population increase, carbon dioxide emission would increase by 0.67%. Also, with gross domestic product increase at a constant price of 1%, the carbon dioxide emission will decrease by 0.79%. According to the results the coefficient of error correction term is equal to -0.64 which is found statistically significant. This means that 64% of error in each period will be corrected in long run trend.