فصلنامه روستا و توسعه
سال بیست و پنجم شماره 3 (پیاپی 99، پاییز 1401)

Due to the existence of suitable space and potential of rural areas of the country, renewable energy has been proposed as a suitable option for energy supply. Therefore, the aim of this study is to integrate multi-criteria decision making methods and geographic information systems in order to assess the potential of optimal areas at the local and rural levels to provide the highest possible spatial separation in this field by presenting decision methods in spatial studies. In this study, the best-worst method was used to weight the criteria and the WLC method was used to obtain a fitness map for the development of renewable energy in Mashhad. The results show the importance of environmental and economic criteria as well as attention to the type of renewable energy for rural areas. Thus, 54% of the total area of the study area is suitable for the establishment of solar power plants and 25% for the establishment of wind power plants in the class. In the study area, the villages were divided into two groups of villages with wind energy potential and solar energy. The villages of the first group are mainly distributed in the southwestern margin and the villages of the second group are distributed in the southern and central margins of Mashhad city. The results of this study can be very useful for planning and decision making at all levels of management for the development of renewable energy in the future.

Rural tourism as one of the important forms of tourism and the driving force behind the development of rural environments is one of the most important issues that require the adoption of coherent strategic plans in accordance with the potentials and local conditions of the region. In the framework of this planning, all the capacities and assets that can be offered in the field of rural tourism through spatial links are integrated. Also taking into account the numerous and different actors in the development of this type of tourism and their role and position in the process strategies from tourism spatial management are offered. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to identify the resources and capabilities and position of the village among other competitors and to present rural tourism development strategies in Hyderabad village located in Mishkhas district of Ilam province. The research method is descriptive-analytical and the method of collecting information and data is documentary and field. The statistical population of the study has been a group of experts. Finally, using the Meta-SWOT technique, the position of the village and appropriate executive strategies has been introduced. The results showed that among the investigated factors, 4 ecotourism development strategies as the most important internal potential of the village which have the most influence and weight are the use of natural landscapes by equipping the area with temporary and permanent residences, etc.; trying to introduce the village at the extra-regional level as an apricot center and supporting the registration of its branding with wide publicity and information; laying the groundwork for investment and taking advantage of private sector investors by granting facilities; involving tourists in the process of making and processing products and eliminating middlemen in providing garden products from the village to the market.

The present study investigates the performance of local government in the implementation of plans and projects and the role of perceived effects of villagers from these plans and projects for their participation in the process of the spatial evolution of rural settlements in the Esfandagheh district. This research is quantitative in scope; Which has studied the effective and influential variables of this research by the descriptive-analytical method and questionnaire tools. The research results indicate a positive and significant relationship between the performance of local government variables and four mediating environmental effects - ecological, social, economic, and physical - infrastructure perceived from plans and projects. Confirmed the relationship between local government and their participation in spatial change with the mediating role of environmental-ecological, social, and physical-infrastructural effects perceived from plans and projects. However, they did not confirm the relationship between local government and their participation in spatial change with the mediating role of perceived economic effects of plans and projects. In other words, the implementation of spatial transformation plans and projects in the economic field has not involved villagers' participation in this field. In general, the research findings showed that local government with the mediating role of environmental-ecological, social, and physical effects of villagers' perceptions of plans and projects on their participation in three dimensions of environmental-ecological, social, and structural spatial evolution. It has had a positive and significant effect.

In this study, in order to investigate the capacities and bottlenecks of the villages around Lake Urmia, SWOT and QSPM models were used and 40 internal factors (strengths and weaknesses) and 30 external factors (opportunities and threats) were studied. The results showed that certified seedlings, the new system of extension, empowerment of women and conversion industries were the top four strengths that under implementation in the villages around Lake Urmia and among the products introduced as alternative crops, saffron and medicinal plants had superior position. According to the research findings, the traditional production process, waste of water resources, water extraction from aquifers and the existence of second and third degree gardens were the most important weaknesses. The ranking of opportunities indicated that the demand for agricultural products, the diversity of horticultural products, agricultural graduates and good lands were the best opportunities available in the villages around Lake Urmia. According to the findings of the study, factors such as soil erosion, water scarcity, reduced soil fertility and declining groundwater levels were among the factors that had seriously threatened livelihoods in the villages around Lake Urmia. According to the research findings and the superiority of internal factors compared to external factors as well as the superiority of strengths to weaknesses and opportunities compared to threats, the general strategy of the agricultural sector in the villages around Lake Urmia to improve livelihood was an aggressive approach.

During the past two decades, the number of small towns has grown dramatically in Iran. Small towns have different functions such as providing services and facilities and overcoming deprivation of surrounding regions, population stability, improving employment and income, creating a market for agricultural products, agricultural development, increasing access to banking and health facilities and services, exchanging of information and communication and so on. This study was done to investigate the social effects and impacts of Likak town on the development of the surrounding villages and the region in two periods: before and after the town was established. In this study, two methods were used including library research to study theories and field study to collect households’ information. According to the study, the statistical population of the research consisted of the head of households. In the field study, 220 households were selected using Cochran's formula and stratified sampling. The general findings of the research indicated that there was absorb effects of rural resources by the town. In other words, the effect of absorb was more than the effects of diffusion. The status of villages has not considerable improvement in terms of population stability, social capital, agricultural products and development.

Although women, especially rural women, play an important role in the development of developing countries; But unfortunately, not much attention is paid to their problems and economic activities. In this regard, rural women microcredit funds can provide a platform for the development of social entrepreneurship and thus solve the problems of rural women; therefore, paying attention to the development of social entrepreneurship activities in the form of rural women micro-credit funds is of great importance and necessity. The aim of this study was to designing a model for the development of social entrepreneurship among the rural women member of microfinance funds in Ivan Township. This research was qualitative in terms of paradigm and applied in terms of purpose, which was done using grounded theory. The study statistical population includes experts in the field of entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship and managers and women members of rural microfinance funds in Ivan Township. The studied samples were first selected purposefully and then selected as a theoretical sample. After 19 interviews, theoretical saturation was obtained. In order to analyze the data, open, axial and selective coding were performed. The findings showed that knowledge and information, personal turmoil, social capital, social responsibility, role modeling, psychological characteristics, social awareness, the nature of microcredit funds and demographic were the components of model of social entrepreneurship development among rural women. Result showed that social entrepreneurship development strategies among rural women microcredit funds including economic support, educational support, financial-supportive policies, modeling and team building were effective.

Rural ecotourism based on scientific principles and criteria is one of the essential approaches in the process of achieving sustainable development and preventing the waste of time and capital.The research method is descriptive-analytical and its purpose is to prioritize the villages targeted for rural ecotourism in the forest area of Babolakrood watershed in Mazandaran province. In the study, Delphi method to identify rural ecotourism criteria, Entropy technique to determine their weight and multi-criteria decision models such as TOPSIS, ElECTER and VIKOR to prioritize villages in the forest area of Babolakrood watershed in terms of ecotourism potential rural in 2019. The findings of the study identified and customized four environmental, economic, social and technical criteria and 44 indicators to evaluate rural ecotourism in case stuady. The results of prioritization of 17 villages in the forest region of Babolakrood watershed showed that Khalil Kola, Kharkak, Ari, Kalikola and Firozjah villages respectively are five villages with high potential for rural ecotourism, with the highest final average. Also, the results showed that the application of different multi-criteria models leads to different ranking of options, so in order to reach a consensus and a more comprehensive ranking of options, the triple integration method has been used. The results showed that VIKOR model in comparison with other models provides more suitable results for prioritizing the villages of the region in terms of rural ecotourism potential. Therefore, we suggested that the target ecotourism villages considered in the management programs of rural ecotourism projects in Mazandaran province,Savadkuh city.

Production process including agricultural production plays a significant role for some pollutants like Methane (CH4) and Nitrous Oxide (N2O), leading to the necessity of supplying safe drinking water in rural areas due to pollutants leakage to water resources. Thus, in addition to the policies at the agricultural sector level, other measures should be taken at the farm level. In this context, the current study aims to develop strategies in order to mitigate pollutants emissions emitted from agricultural activities. The possible strategies to dampen the pollutants emissions at farm level were developed based on the current literature and the survey implemented throughout the selected experts in Fars province. The survey was conducted to provide information to rank the strategies. The strategies were ranked using FAHP and TOPSIS techniques. Based on the results, for both agronomy and horticultural, and husbandry activities, effectiveness and cost were ranked more important, assigning three-fourth of the total weight. The results obtained for strategies ranking revealed that for activities in agronomy and horticultural subsector, the prioritized strategies are agricultural machinery and equipment management, plant residue management and managerial activities in general at the farm level. For the husbandry activities, manure scraping method and the animal housing management were ranked with higher importance followed by alteration in animal feed diet.

Agricultural insurance is one of the effective agricultural risk management programs. Barberry is the major agricultural product in South Khorasan province which shapes 95% of the entire agricultural production in the province. Accordingly, this research investigates the major factors that affect insurance acceptance amongst barberry producers in rural areas of South Khorasan province in 2020. The demographic statistics suggest that there are approximately 12,500 barberry producers in Ghaen and Zirkoh villages, which is about half of the whole barberry producers in the province. Based on Cochran's formula, the number of statistical samples is 372 barberries. Both the reliability of using Cronbach's alpha and the validity of the research questionnaire became confirmed by the agricultural-jahad department experts and the university professors. The results show that a range of factors including horticultural experience level, awareness of aphid dangers, sudden rains, insects and rodents have a positive and significant effect on the intended farmers’ willingness to accept agricultural insurance. Insects and rodents have a dramatic impact on insurance acceptance. Further, a higher awareness of natural hazards and pests and diseases would increase the likelihood of agricultural insurance acceptance amongst the intended farmers. Therefore, this study suggests that related awareness classes are needed to boost the knowledge level of farmers about the potential risks and hazards and encourage them to accept agricultural insurance programs.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of industry on development in divshal rural district. This study seeks to answer the question of how effective rural industries have been in the social, economic, environmental and physical dimensions of the development of the divshal rural district in the county of Langaroud?. The approach of this research is descriptive-analytical and survey. The present study was conducted in 2020 and the statistical population of the study was 10261 people from the population of divshal rural district. Using Cochran's formula, 303 households were selected as the sample population and were interviewed by simple random sampling. The results of one-sample t-test showed that the creation of industries in social, economic, physical and environmental dimensions of rural development in the study area, has a significant effect. According to the multiple regression analysis, the research variables explain 56% of the rural development indicators in terms of the functions of rural industries in the study area. The results of this study showed that rural industries, in the development of divshal rural district in economic and social dimensions, have a higher average than the theoretical average, which indicates the favorable situation of these dimensions. In the environmental dimension, the average is higher than the theoretical average, which indicates the unfavorable situation of this dimension. Also, the effects of industries in the physical dimension have a negative effect and the indicators of this dimension have not been able to cause rural development in the desired rural district.