نشریه پژوهش مدیریت آموزش کشاورزی
سال هفدهم شماره 70 (پاییز 1403)

Rural women need empowerment in various dimensions., as an effective group in rural communities development. The present study aims to examine the educational empowerment of rural women and the educational, promotional, economic, and social factors affecting it in the context of sustainable agriculture, conducted in the year 2023. The statistical population studied consists of 2,054 rural women from 12 villages in Islamabad Gharb County, who are directly involved in agricultural activities. From those, 324 individuals were selected as the samples using Morgan's table during a simple random method. This applied research is correlational-causal and conducted through a survey using a questionnaire. The content validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by experts, and the average variance extracted (AVE) was validated at 0.613. The reliability of the questionnaire was measured based on ordinal Alpha (ranging from 0.75 to 0.93) and composite alpha (ranging from 0.78 to 0.94) through a pre-test process. Data analysis was performed using the statistical software SPSS Ver. 23, Smart PLS 3, and statistical methods like correlation and confirmatory factor analysis. The results of the extracted beta coefficients from path analysis based on the PLS output showed that economic factors, extension education factors, governmental and organizational factors, and social capital had the highest impact on the educational empowerment of rural women, with coefficients of 0.303, 0.280, 0.277, and 0.271, respectively. It needs to motivate rural women through workshops and supportive-motivational programs, encourage their self-organization, and enhance their knowledge and attitudes regarding sustainable agriculture and food security.

The content in the educational program of training extension throughout history and in different countries has been of interest. Critical review of the content provided through agricultural extension and training programs is necessary to ensure their effectiveness; the performance of the extension system largely depends on the appropriateness of its content. The current research was conducted with the aim of examining the content of the training program of agricultural extension, qualitative approach and systematic review method were used to collect data, and the articles from the SCOPUS database, from 2018-2024 and according to the keywords and The prisma structure was selected, so 25 scientific-research articles were included in the study. The sources were carefully examined using thematic analysis and through MAXQDA2020 software. Findings 7 key themes, each of which has a central role in shaping the content of the training program for extension and agricultural training, including communication and compatibility, sustainability, technology, policy and budget, accessibility and inclusiveness, cultural sensitivity and stakeholders. These are introduced by 24 components and 86 codes. According to the results, this article provides valuable insights on the evolution of agricultural extension and training curriculum content and emphasizes the need for continuous improvement and adaptation in the face of emerging global challenges.

Agriculture is one of the main pillars of the country's economy, and the need to examine e-commerce in this field is of significant importance. Given the importance of educating and raising awareness among producers about the necessity of implementing e-commerce models, this study aimed to analyze the educational needs of e-commerce architectures among cherry producers in Khorasan Razavi province. This province was selected due to its high cherry production and its exports to other countries. A mixed-methods research approach was employed in this study. In the qualitative phase, a document review and related literature analysis were conducted, and existing models were analyzed. Then, the theoretical model of the study was proposed based on the results of the qualitative analyses. In the quantitative phase, data were collected through a researcher-made questionnaire, whose validity was confirmed through a panel of experts and reliability was verified using the composite reliability index. Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS and AMOS software. The statistical population of the study consisted of 1,365 cherry farmers in 2021, from which 300 were randomly selected as the sample. The results of second-order confirmatory factor analysis showed that the architectures of electronic auction systems, value chain service providers, and third-party markets had the highest alignment with the examined social system. Based on these findings, it is recommended that the Agricultural Jihad Organization increases farmers' awareness of the benefits of these models through promotional training sessions and enhances their efficiency and income by providing communication facilities. Additionally, holding meetings and training courses to build trust and implement these models in the province is emphasized

The plan for a new agricultural extension system and zoning of production areas in agricultural Jahad centers was implemented in 2016 at the level of production zones in order to increase the penetration of knowledge and the coverage of agricultural extension services. However, despite the benefits of this plan, it still faces various problems, including the lack of access to accurate statistics on zones, the non-locality and single-specialization of some experts, the lack of budget and facilities, the lack of infrastructure required by agricultural Jahad centers, office bureaucracy in implementing plans and programs, and concerns about the continuation of this plan in the coming years. Therefore, it is necessary to examine and analyze agricultural extension services in depth and comprehensively to determine to what extent the new extension system has been successful in increasing the penetration of knowledge and achieving the coverage of extension services. This research aimed to investigate the status of agricultural extension service coverage in Kermanshah province and the factors affecting the knowledge penetration rate in 2024 with a mixed exploratory (qualitative-quantitative) perspective. The research was applied in terms of nature (objective) and field in terms of data collection, and was conducted using a causal correlational method. Initially, the indicators related to the coverage of agricultural extension services and the factors affecting it were identified qualitatively using the Delphi technique. Analysis of open-ended questions was conducted with conventional content analysis, which is the review of the interview text by the researcher. The research population in the qualitative and statistical part, which was conducted to identify the indicators, was the members of the agricultural extension and education faculty of Razi University (four people), experts in the extension coordination management of Kermanshah province (six people), extension officials of the provinces (five people), and promoters responsible for the Kermanshah province area, seven people (a total of 22 people), who were selected purposefully and by snowball. The result of this stage was the identification of 25 indicators related to the coverage of agricultural extension services and 40 indicators related to the effective factors in the expansion of extension services and increasing the penetration rate of agricultural knowledge. The identified indicators were designed in the form of a questionnaire. The statistical population of the study in the quantitative part was 711 extension experts responsible for the Kermanshah province area, of which 252 were selected using the Krejci and Morgan table using a stratified random sampling method with proportional assignment based on the leveling of centers. After normalization and weighting of the indicators, the status of the coverage of agricultural extension services was determined based on the five Prescott -Allen classes. Descriptive statistics such as mean and standard deviation were used to process the data. The factors affecting the coverage of agricultural extension services were also determined using multiple regressions. The findings showed that the level of coverage of agricultural extension services in Kermanshah province was at an inappropriate level. A comparison between the four levels of agricultural extension centers in terms of service coverage showed that in level one rural agricultural extension centers, the coverage of agricultural extension services is more appropriate than at other levels, and in level three rural agricultural extension centers, the coverage is less appropriate than at other levels. Based on the findings of multiple regression, seven factors including the number of farmers covered, the morphological status of the region, the existence of agricultural and rural cooperatives, agricultural technical and engineering consulting service companies, the diversity of the exploitation system, the dispersion of villages, and the existence of an mineral pitch road to the center had an effect on improving the coverage of agricultural extension services.

The present study aimed to investigate the pro-environmental behavior of beekeepers using the integrated Hermann-Ajzen model. The statistical population of this research consisted of beekeepers in Javanrud County (N=180) who had participated in environmental education courses and were studied through a census method. The data collection tool was a researcher-made, three-part questionnaire, whose validity was confirmed by expert faculty members, and its reliability was verified using Cronbach’s alpha, AVE, and CR tests. To examine causal relationships among variables, structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed using Smart PLS software. An analysis of mental processing indicators among the studied beekeepers revealed that the dominant mental styles were, in descending order: yellow mind (Mean = 4.15, SD = 0.91), blue mind (Mean = 3.78, SD = 0.50), green mind (Mean = 3.42, SD = 1.08), and red mind (Mean = 2.96, SD = 1.25). Furthermore, the structural equation modeling results showed no significant relationships between attitude and intention toward pro-environmental behavior (p=0.365, t=0.906), intention and mental processing indicators (p=0.419, t=0.808), pro-environmental behavior and mental processing indicators (p=0.976, t=0.030), and subjective norms and intention toward pro-environmental behavior (p=0.395, t=0.850). Consequently, the null hypothesis remained valid. However, significant relationships were observed between intention and pro-environmental behavior (p=0.011, t=2.541), attitude and mental processing indicators (p=0.015, t=2.441), perceived behavioral control and mental processing indicators (p=0.000, t=3.426), subjective norms and mental processing indicators (p=0.000, t=4.046), perceived behavioral control and pro-environmental behavior (p=0.002, t=3.094), and pro-environmental behavior and perceived behavioral control (p=0.001, t=3.282).

The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the relationship be-tween livelihood capital and environmental behavior of rangeland users. This research is applied in terms of its purpose. The data collection tool was a researcher-made ques-tionnaire and the sampling method was simple random. The statistical sample included 190 rangeland owners living in rural areas of Saral Rural District, Divandarreh County, Kurdistan Province. The results of the correlation showed that there is a positive and significant relationship between all livelihood variables and environmental behavior of villagers, but the relationship between financial capital and environmental behavior is negative and inverse. The results related to multiple regression also showed that the human capital and social capital variables explained a total of 0.56% of the variance of the environmental behavior variable. The overall results of this study showed that any training for rural communities (learning new skills and professions, level of knowledge and skills about rangeland, etc.) can directly affect environmental behavior; Because environmental education and awareness are recognized as a key tool for changing atti-tudes, strengthening social responsibility, and promoting sustainable lifestyles, and this process, while creating knowledge, will lead to environmental behavior and strengthen the ability to analyze complex issues and make informed decisions in individuals.

The present study was conducted in response to the assessment of specialized agricultural training needs, the method of implementation and measurement of the effectiveness of specialized agricultural training required by the heads of the board of directors and managing directors of rural production cooperatives. The statistical sample in the educational needs assessment section consisted of 67 heads of the board of directors and 67 managing directors by simple random method, and 56 experts (including 28 experts responsible for exploitation systems and 28 experts from the education department) were selected. Specialized training courses were selected based on the calendar approved by the Central Organization of Rural Cooperatives, and agreement measurement was used to determine the educational needs. The 5e constructivist teaching model (activation, exploration, explanation, elaboration, and evaluation) was used to implement the training courses. The data collection tool was a questionnaire based on the Kirkpatrick effectiveness assessment model, whose reliability was estimated at the desired level by calculating the ordinal theta coefficient and composite reliability and validity were also estimated by referring to the construct validity index. The results of the descriptive findings indicated that in the educational needs assessment section, there was consensus among experts, board chairmen, and managing directors regarding the educational needs of familiarity with water laws and regulations, how to form watershed groups and manage irrigation on the farm, converting and processing agricultural and livestock products, managing the use of chemical fertilizers and micronutrients, familiarity with agricultural pesticides and their use in agriculture and horticulture.

extension and Educating Agriculture for Sustainable Agricultural Development is Essential. This study emphasizes the scientific contribution of agricultural extension and education research over the period from 1941 to 2023. For this purpose, bibliometric techniques, including co-citation analysis, co-authorship analysis, and keyword co-occurrence analysis, were employed. The statistical population of the research consisted of all research articles published in this field in the Scopus database, ultimately resulting in the examination of 4,008 articles. The variables under investigation included leading authors, journals, institutions, and countries. Related topics, collaboration patterns, and research trends were also explored. Additionally, key indices such as the H-index, citation counts, and journal impact factors were calculated to evaluate the visibility and impact of the research. Statistical analyses were conducted using R software and VOS Viewer. The findings indicate a growing trend in agricultural extension and education research since 2006, with a significant increase observed from 2010 onwards. The growth rate of articles in this field was 7.41%. The analysis of the scientific map of the studies revealed the identification of a seven-cluster pattern, with the keyword "climate change" being the most frequently repeated. The thematic evolution of the studies showed that from 2017 to 2023, articles focused more on climate change, adaptation, and participation. The highest number of articles originated from the United States, with universities in this country also leading in this area. The topic of climate change has received considerable attention in the articles. It is expected that this focus will influence the future trends of articles on agricultural extension and education by examining methods and techniques for adopting new technologies to combat climate change among farmers, implementing appropriate adaptation strategies—such as the adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices—and utilizing farmers’ knowledge to guide these planning efforts.