نشریه راهبردهای کارآفرینی در کشاورزی
پیاپی 16 (پاییز و زمستان 1400)

Medicinal plants are the natural treasure of any country. It has a great impact on improving the health and cultural indicators of Socio-economic. Drought and water shortage crisis has introduced the development of production and processing of medicinal plants with low water requirement as one of the most important areas of agricultural development in Sistan and Baluchestan province. Due to the limited public financial resources and the importance of the role of the private sector, the goal of the research was to identify the Entrepreneurial Investment priorities in this industry and its research priorities in this province.

In this research was used mixed research method. It is the approach of qualitative and quantitative research method. The statistical population was researchers and experts in the field of medicinal plants in the province. The study sample was 10 medicinal plant experts for qualitative section and 30 researchers and experts in the field of medicinal plants in the province in the quantitative section. The research tool in quantitative was a structured questionnaire whose validity and reliability were confirmed in the quantitative section. The 27 medicinal plants in the country have a more comparative advantage and the private sector can invest in 21 areas in the qualitative sector. The "compiling a comprehensive program of research on medicinal plants" and "preparing an Entrepreneurial Investment and employment map in the medicinal plants industry" are the most important infrastructure programs for the development of this industry in the province. Also, the two research topics are "Market Development and Export" and "Processing". On the other hand, Moringa peregrina, Hibiscus sabdariffa, Terebinth (Pistacia atlantica), Teucrium polium, Nigella sativa, Ferula Assa-Foetida and Glycyrrhiza glabra were the top seven and most talented medicinal plants in the province for Entrepreneurial Investment. Also, improved seed production, creation of a marketing and sales network, and increased outdoor production performance were Entrepreneurial Investment priorities in the development process of the province's medicinal plants industry. According to the research results in order to organize and increase the productivity of the medicinal plants industry in the province, need to be developed and implemented. "Comprehensive Medicinal Plants Research Program", "Investment and Employment Plan in Medicinal Plants", "Comprehensive Medicinal Plants Production Plan", "Comprehensive Export Program Medicinal plants”, “Comprehensive program to promote the use of medicinal plants" and "Special research program for the production of new herbal medicines". Also in the next 10 years, the private sector will invest in improving the quantity and quality of the international marketing and sales network, producing improved seeds, establishing a marketing and domestic sales network, managing the production and harvesting of pastures and greenhouse production of medicinal plants: Moringa peregrina, Hibiscus sabdariffa, Terebinth (Pistacia atlantica), Teucrium polium, Nigella sativa, Ferula Assa-Foetida and Glycyrrhiza glabra.

Opportunity is often mentioned as vital element for understanding entrepreneurship in agriculture sector. Recognition and exploitation of entrepreneurial opportunities are among the most important steps in the agricultural entrepreneurial process. However, the factors affecting opportunity recognition have received more attention than that affecting opportunity exploitation. Investigation of these concepts in agriculture sector of developing countries is also one of the understudied topics in entrepreneurship research. The aim of this survey research was to investigate factors influencing the number of opportunities exploited by Iranian agricultural entrepreneurs. These factors were considered according to a sector-specific perspective (considering agriculture sector).

The sample of this study was made up of 256 agricultural entrepreneurs (N=721). Data were gathered using questionnaire which its face validity was confirmed by Shiraz University professors and its reliability was measured through Cronbach’s alpha (0.78≤ α ≤0.92). Data were analyzed using R software. The results indicated positive and significant effects of social networks (B=0.092), perception about agriculture environment (B= 0.099), and experience in agriculture sector (B=0.022) on the number of opportunities exploited by agricultural entrepreneurs. Education (B=-0.022) had a negative and significant effect on the dependent variable.

According to the findings, men were more successful than women in opportunity exploitation and entrepreneurs who live in rural areas were more likely to exploit opportunities than urban entrepreneurs.

Based on the findings, promoting perception about agriculture environment, gaining experience, and joining social networks were suggested for agricultural entrepreneurs. Developing entrepreneurial universities and promoting agriculture image were suggested for the government and the other stakeholders in agricultural entrepreneurship.

Livestock activity in Mazandaran province has a significant share in employment and production of related products in the country. To achieve economic development, identifying the challenges and potentials for progress in this sector are important factors. The purpose of this study is to analyze the resources, activities and institutions of Mazandaran province with an economic approach to strengthen production and employment and find a suitable strategy to increase the employment and production of livestock in Mazandaran province.

in this study, by considering the production capabilities of livestock products in Mazandaran province, and using a SWOT analysis based on the AHP approach, the problems, and opportunities in the livestock sub-sector in Mazandaran province were identified and examined. To extract pairwise comparisons of internal and external factors, 15 experienced experts in the livestock subdivision of the Agricultural Jihad Organization and Departments of Mazandaran Province were interviewed in 2018. Finally, using the Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM) approach, strategies for developing this subsector were prioritized. Excel and GAMS software were used to estimate the results.

The results of SWOT analysis in the analysis of internal and external factors showed that to develop the livestock sub-sector in Mazandaran province, aggressive strategies can be useful. Also, the results of prioritizing strategies through the QSPM approach showed that according to the aggressive strategies in the livestock sub-sector, "export development and entry into global markets", "product and market development", " Creating facilities for the export of Caspian Sea littoral states " and " Modified breeds of livestock to increase production " with scores of 6.467, 6.147, 5.442 and 4.947, respectively, can be considered as strategies for developing production and employment in the livestock sub-sector of Mazandaran province .

According to the results of internal and external factors in SWOT analysis, the optimal strategy in livestock activity in Mazandaran province is the aggressive strategy of SO.  According to the results of this study, strategies such as development and promotion of traditional livestock to semi-industrial and industrial, reducing mediation and intermediation and regulating market by collecting accurate statistics and information sources, Modifying breeds of livestock, supporting exports especially exports to Caspian Sea littoral states, improving the quality and standard of processed products for sale in regional and trans-regional markets, recognizing the needs of target markets and Such cases are suggested.

In today's world, companies are looking to make more profit by spending less. Competitive advantage is the main goal of companies.  Each area is made up of different activities that have different value additions. The final value of a commodity is obtained by the activities of each part of production. To do this, you need to know the value chain of the product. The value chain represents a cycle of value-creating activities in the product production process. The purpose of this study is to analyze the value chain of honey production industries based on Porter value chain model in Kermanshah province.

This research is based on the purpose of an applied research, based on data collection, a descriptive comparative causal research and in terms of approach or methodology, it is a quantitative research. The statistical population of the study was the managers and experts of Kermanshah Jihad Agricultural Department, all beekeeping companies and honey production in Kermanshah province that according to field knowledge, their number was estimated at 1900 people, of which 320 questionnaires with Likert scale were collected for data processing. For data processing, descriptive statistics techniques and Student _ t _ testing are used in SPSS version 25.

Findings showed that the situation of all 7 components related to the value chain of conversion industries in Kermanshah province is not appropriate and needs serious improvement and attention. The findings also showed that the missing link in the value chain of honey production industries in Kermanshah province is related to the lack of communication between producers / collectors of products with the industrial sector of this industry, and in the second stage between the industrial sectors with the origins of commercialization of products nationally and internationally. These two missing links have made the production and development activities of honey production in this province less valuable.

A link between product collectors / beekeepers and the industrial sector and processors of honey production industries should be established and optimized. Then, the connection between the transcendental sector and the origins of commercialization, both nationally and internationally, should be established in order to maximize the value of the chain. This maximization of the value chain will increase the quantitative and qualitative purposefulness in the level of products and the variety of products of Kermanshah honey industry.

The importance of start-ups in the agricultural sector is clearer than ever. However, to achieve this, it is necessary to provide the right environment and conditions for start-ups. Therefore, the aim of this study was to design a success model for agricultural start-ups with an interpretive structural modeling approach.

The present study is applied based on the purpose and descriptive-correlation based on the method. In the first step, the elements that make up the success model of start-up agricultural businesses were extracted based on semi-structured interviews with 11 academic experts.

The output of this stage was to identify 52 variables in 9 dimensions (personal and managerial capabilities, human resources, environmental factors, marketing activities, financial issues, product/business development, customer satisfaction, strategy, networking and communication). Interpretive structural modeling was used for dimension leveling and Micmac 1 analysis was used for clustering. Interpretive structural results showed that the dimensions of success of start-up agricultural businesses are in four levels, which are based on success in the first dimension (individual and managerial capabilities, environmental factors and financial issues), in the second degree human resources, in the third degree marketing activities and in the fourth degree. Dimensions (product / business development, customer satisfaction, strategy, networking and communication), Also, after Mikmak analysis, human resources in the autonomous cluster, dimensions (marketing activities, customer satisfaction, networking and communications) in the dependent cluster, dimensions (strategy, product/business development) in the linked cluster and dimensions (individual and managerial capabilities, factors Environmental, financial issues) were placed in independent clusters.

Finally, the authorities are suggested to prepare a vision document for the agricultural sector in order for successful start-up agricultural businesses to succeed.

Villages play an undeniable role in economic, socio-political growth in the social and demographic system of countries and agriculture as a strategy for rural development includes most of the economic activities of villagers. Currently, the phenomenon of sustainable employment in rural communities is more important than before because sustainable job development among villagers is an important strategy that can improve the rural development process. Therefore, only by increasing employment in rural areas can the phenomenon of migration be prevented because agricultural resources alone will not meet their needs. The depopulation of villages can be a major threat to the food security of the community. In this way the aim of this study was to design sustainable employment mechanisms among tobacco farmers.

In this study, the qualitative paradigm and grounded theory of the foundation were used to identify the mechanisms of sustainable employment. Participants in this study included 18 tobacco farmers with more than 10 years of experience in Dashtestan. The samples were selected using snowball sampling method and the criterion for the number of subjects was theoretical saturation. The method of collecting information extracted from the interview participants was semi-structured.

The results of the collected data revealed 48 main challenges among tobacco farmers. Factors of lack of support and purchase of the product at a reasonable price by the city tobacco department, the occurrence of numerous pests, lack of support for domestic production and increase in imports, lack of government support for the agricultural sector, high cost of buying agricultural inputs in the open market and brokers are the most important problems. He was a tobacconist. Factors extracted in 7 economic and support mechanisms (13 factors), agriculture and environment (9 factors), marketing (9 factors), industrialization (4 factors), education and skills (3 factors), policy (6 factors) and motivational (4 factors) were categorized and analyzed. Finally, the mechanisms were placed in the form of Strauss and Corbin models based on their nature.

In general, the results of this research can provide new insights for rural and agricultural development policy makers because all issues and problems of tobacco workers' employment have been identified and with careful planning can help to stabilize them. In this regard, it is suggested that by holding training courses and workshops, they provide the ground for the development of cultivation of this crop among farmers based on scientific and precise principles.

Entering the age that is common in the information society, entrepreneurship in the digital space as a new approach to starting businesses based on a new thinking and idea has found a prominent place among service and production activists. Identification and analysis of factors affecting digital entrepreneurship in knowledge-based companies in Mazandaran province.

This research was applied in terms of purpose and in terms of implementation method, descriptive-survey and purposeful, which was performed by mixed exploratory method. In the qualitative stage, the research team consisted of 10 university experts who were selected by targeted method and snowball technique. In the quantitative stage of the statistical population, all managers of knowledge-based companies were 197 people. The sample size according to Krejcie and Morgan table was 132 people and simple random sampling method was used. In the qualitative stage, the content analysis method was used to identify the factors and in the quantitative stage, the structural equation method with the SmartPLS3 software was used to analyze the relationships of the variables.

The results of content analysis showed that the factors affecting digital entrepreneurship include 39 components in seven dimensions (structure-strategy-management-people-technology-content-environment). Also, the results of structural equations showed structural factors (0.620), strategy (0.366), managerial (0.587), individuals (0.412), technology (0.491), content (0.307) and environmental (0.318) have a positive and significant effect on digital entrepreneurship in knowledge-based companies.

Finally, it can be said that digital entrepreneurship is essential for knowledge-based companies.

In response to the global economy, policymakers have focused on the development of small businesses, regional business associations, and local entrepreneurs. Given that the agricultural sector is responsible for ensuring the food security of the growing population, however, in many cases, prioritizing the production of sufficient food overshadows the issue of the health of agricultural products produced. These factors have led to the preservation of the environment and food safety security has become one of the human challenges in the present age and the international community is looking for appropriate strategies to solve problems and achieve sustainable development systems. One of the most important strategies is to pay attention to the position of entrepreneurship, which aims to increase profits, increase product production with minimal reliance on the use of chemicals. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of entrepreneurial orientation on the entrepreneurial intention of small and medium agricultural businesses with the mediating role of psychological capital.

This research is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive research in terms of data collection and is a branch of field studies and is causal in terms of the relationship between research variables. The statistical population of the present study was rice farmers in Noor city. Using available random sampling method and Cochran's formula, 89 people were selected as the sample. A standard questionnaire was used to collect information. In this study, to evaluate the validity of the questionnaire, the methods of "content validity" and "structural validity" were used. Cronbach's alpha was used to measure the reliability of the research variables.

The research results showed that; At the 95% confidence level, entrepreneurial orientation has a significant effect on the entrepreneurial intention of small and medium-sized agricultural businesses, and also psychological capital helps to facilitate this relationship.

In order for paddy farmers to be able to grow their business and gain a foothold in the market, they must be aware of the importance of psychological capital and introduce new products and services by strengthening R&D activities as well as making changes. Focus product lines.

Entrepreneurial intention is considered as the starting point and pre-condition for entrepreneurial activities. Entrepreneurial orientation refers to the tendency of people to business opportunities, pro-activeness and propensity toward risks, need for achievement and independence. It seems that  entrepreneurial intention is affected by individuals’ entrepreneurial orientation. Since getting familiar with entrepreneurial intentions of individuals and recognizing the related influencing factors has a great role on entrepreneurial development, particularly in rural areas, accordingly, the present study was conducted to investigate the effect of entrepreneurial orientation components on agricultural entrepreneurship intentions in rural areas.

This research was conducted by survey method on the statistical population of 150 entrepreneurs employing in the agricultural sector of Marvdasht county. The data collection tool was a questionnaire in which the face validity was confirmed by experts and the reliability was confirmed by a pilot study outside the statistical sample. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the data.

The results of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) confirmed the validity, reliability and fit of the latent variables of the research. the results of structural modeling showed that the components of independence, the need for achievement (success) and risk-taking of entrepreneurs were predictors of changes in entrepreneurial intentions. In addition, 15% of the variance changes in the entrepreneurial intentions of the studied agricultural entrepreneurs are explained by their entrepreneurial orientation components. The correlation analyses showed that these variables were positively associated with entrepreneurial intention scores in the sample. However, the opportunity identification and proactiveness components did not predict changes in their entrepreneurial intentions.

The strong entrepreneurial orientation generally plays an important role on better entrepreneirual performance in the way that leads high levels of creative, effective, and risk-taking behaviors. Entrepreneurs with higher orientation are those who have the ability to change an uncertain environment and bring the advantages into their context. These factors’ positive direct impact on entrepreneurial intention suggest that entrepreneurial orientation will be achieved by promoting the appropriate facilitative context for getting familiarize with entrepreneurship opportuinities. The study concluded by making a number of practical suggestions to strengthen the entrepreneurial intentions of agricultural entrepreneurs to help managers and agricultural planners.

Sustainability of small and medium-sized rural businesses` activities are very vital due to the importance and effective role of SMEs as the engine of human and economic development. Rural women have direct effect on these businesses` development as half of the population of rural areas. Therefore, determinants of entrepreneurial activities development of rural women of Larestan County in Fars province were the main purpose of the study.

This descriptive study was accomplished through survey technique using a questionnaire for data collection. The face validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by the professors of the Department of Agricultural Extension and Education and the reliability was approved by conducting a pilot study out of the main sample in some villages of Marvdasht County. The Cronbach`s alphas of the variables were computed between 0.74 and 0.93. The research area was Larestan county in southern Fars province, so the study population was all of the rural women who were the members of Omid Entrepreneurship Fund of Larestan County (440 individuals) and the sample was estimated 108 individuals based on Cochran formula. Final samples of 216 rural women were interviewed due to the stratified random sampling method from two groups of members (111 women) and non-members (105 women) of Omid Entrepreneurship Fund. Two separate causal models were presented for memvers and non-members.

The results of path analysis indicated that entrepreneurial spirit, educational level, entrepreneurship education, skills for business plan writing, governmental supportive policies, business environment, entrepreneurial; orientation and social and organizational networking had direct effects on the entrepreneurial activities development. On the other hand, based on the causal model of non-members group, the three variables of educational level, business environment and social and organizational networking were the effective factors on entrepreneurial activities development of non-members. Indirect effects of the factors through mediator variables have also been seen in the both models.  

Findings showed that the members of Omid Entrepreneurship Fund were better than non-members in terms of individual entrepreneurial characteristics and business`s condition. The causal model of the members is a stronger model and indicates a more diverse affecting factor in the development of rural women entrepreneurial activities compared to the other model of non-members. Some applicable recommendations were provided based on the findings in order to improve the businesses of Larestan county`s rural women. One of the most important recommendations of the study was to pay attention to various entrepreneurial educations, strengthen skills in business plan writing skill and improve the five characteristics of rural women entrepreneurial orientation. The networking of different rural women groups could also be effective on the improvement of business performence. Finally, creating a culture about the role of women in the socio-economic activities of community will also be an important factor in the women's entrepreneurial activities development.

In the competitive world of today, agriculture has become knowledge-intensive and is rapidly changing. Therefore, new product development and scientific research commercialization in knowledge-based companies and successful delivery of products and services to the market can improve performance and increase production in agriculture and play an important role in development of the country.

This research is conducted based on the Grounded Theory and a systemic view with a qualitative approach. The target population includes the experts of science and technology parks and the CEOs of the knowledge-based agricultural companies located in these parks. Using theoretical purposive sampling, after conduction of 15 in-depth interviews theoretical saturation was reached.

Based on the analysis of the conducted interviews, 578 initial open codes were identified and these codes are subsequently reduced to 43 axial codes and 6 selected codes. The final theory is formed around the axial categories of innovation-orientation, customer-orientation, market-orientation, and profit-orientation. The generated theory was modified in terms of credibility through the strategy of members' revision. Further, to ensure the research reliability, the data analysis process, until formation of the theory, was described as much as possible. The results indicate that the axial categories are recognizable by relying on the factors of individual competence, team competence, innovation and technology nature, market readiness, the level of technology preparedness and maturity, support factors, founder's mental engagement, and internal productivity. In addition, these constructs, under the influence of environmental, political-administrative, socio-cultural, economic-financial, technological and legal interfering conditions and the contextual organizational conditions of knowledge-based companies, the role of technology parks and government support and the application of commercialization strategies, lead to sustainable entrepreneurship, improvement of product quality, sales and profit promotion, and better service delivery to community.

the managers of the knowledge-based agricultural companies should align their strategies in order to be able to successfully commercialize their products and should constantly look for new knowledge and its applications in different stages of new product production. In addition, senior public administrators and universities of agricultural sciences must always strive to use these strategies for commercialization of research of scholars and scientists and wealth generation.

Technical and vocational education as an inevitable component of intellectual capital has an extensive role in strengthening knowledge, skills and attitude, because technical and professional training and skills, while meeting the needs of human resources and promoting their learners, are taking steps to create employment and employ skilled personnel.  In this regard, the purpose of this paper is to evaluate the role of vocational training in rural women's employment. Therefore, technical and vocational training plays an important role in the formation of human capital through training skilled workers needed by the labor market.

In this regard, using qualitative paradigm and fundamental theory in this study, the role of technical and vocational training in cheghamaran village without cloud, in Kermanshah province was investigated. Data collection was conducted through in-depth, semi-structured interviews, focus groups, referrals and frequent calls. Sampling is a purposeful and snowball method.  

The results showed that technical and vocational training leads to changes in the level of knowledge and awareness of their jobs, changes in the level of competence and professional skills, changes in their attitude to work.

Therefore, it is concluded that technical and vocational training in order to train skilled manpower needed by societies has a wide and undeniable role and causes the growth of rapid changes in science and technology in society, especially women.