نشریه علوم ترویج و آموزش کشاورزی
سال هشتم شماره 2 (پیاپی 16، پاییز و زمستان 1391)

Bushehr province has experienced an exceptional drought in the past few years. As a result, water has become extremely scarce. Use of desalination plant technology is a way of coping with agricultural drought. Hence, the aim of this study was to investigate the determinants of stakeholders’ attitude toward using desalination plant to provide water for agriculture in Bushehr province. A questionnaire based survey was used for assessing the attitudes. The face and content validity of questionnaire was confirmed by experts and Cronbach’s alpha test revealed the reliability of the instruments used in the study. Hierarchical regression was used for assessing farmers’ attitude towards acceptance of desalination plant. Variables that entered the regression model, predicted more than 69 percent of farmers’ attitude toward use of desalination plant. Water resources, perception of advantages of water desalination plant, and social norms were the most important predictors of attitude toward water desalination plant. Discriminant analysis used for explanation the experts’ tendencies to diffuse the desalination plant. The model had the ability to classify (correctly classified 91 percent of the cases) experts based on their tendencies toward promotion of water desalination plant.

The present study intended to investigate how organizational justice relates to dimensions of job performance. Hereby, it is strived to address the impact of organizational justice on task as well as contextual performance among agricultural extension experts. Sampling 180 agricultural extension experts, working in the Kerman Province, as statistical population; 123 cases were determined using both Krejcie and Morgan’s Table and proportional stratified random sampling method of sample size. Data were collected using a questionnaire developed for the study. Validity of the questionnaire was approved by panel of experts. In order to masure the reliability of questionnaire, Cronbach's Alpha coefficient was calculated. Data were analyzed by applying SPSSwin20 and LISREL8.5. Results showed that there was a positive and significant relationship among all components of organizational justice (distributive justice, procedural justice and interactive justice) and task along with contextual performance among extension experts (P <0.01). Furthermore, results related to structural equation modeling (SEM) showed that organizational justice can explain 36% and 26% of variations of extension experts’ task and contextual performance respectively.

Nowadays, agriculture experts are with three major challenges. Production increasing due to population growth; cost decreasing through reducing consumption of inputs; environment protection during production process. Therefore, applying precision agriculture technology is unavoidable and many countries are benefiting this technology now. Investigating factors affecting precision agriculture knowledge of consulting extension services companies’ members of Shiraz county was the main objective of this research. The paper noted the importance of this technology and then assessed the level of companies expert's knowledge toward precision agricultural technology. Furthermore, factors affecting the knowledge was investigated. Survey research was the research method. Eighteen companies of twenty seven consulting extension services companies (with 112 members) in Shiraz were selected randomly and five members were selected randomly from each company. Finally, ninety members were interviewed. Questionnaire was used for data collection. According to the research conceptual framework, the impact of individual, environmental and professional group factors were assessed on their knowledge toward precision agriculture (in four dimensions: fundamental, professional, tools and impacts). Research findings revealed that the level of experts’ knowledge toward precision agriculture was moderate in impact dimension and were less than the average level in the other dimensions. According to correlation result amount of land, supervising work experience and spent training from professional factors; were effective factors on the level of precision agriculture knowledge of managers. Also, regression results showed that the gender and educational level from individual factors; and diversity of cultures in their supervising area from environmental factors were affecting factors on level of precision agriculture knowledge of farm managers. Some applied recommendations have been presented at the end of article.

The purpose of this study was to investigate organizational learning and contextual factors with the respective effects on organizational learning in agricultural colleges. The research method used was a survey and descriptive- correlation techniques. The population consisted of all faculty members in the public agricultural colleges (N= 1726). Using Krejcie and Morgan Table, 329 faculty members were selected as sample (n= 329). Data were collected by using questionnaire, which was validated by a panel of experts and the reliability was gained through a pilot study with Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient between 0.73 to 0.93. The results of the research showed that there was a difference between existence and moderate point about all contextual factors (shared vision, system thinking, learning organizational culture, flexible organizational structure, professional development and personal mastery, and transformational leadership) and process factor (organizational learning) in agricultural colleges. The results of correlation showed that there was a positive and significant correlation between organizational learning and all contextual factors. The findings of multiple regressions revealed that four contextual factors, which included flexible organizational structure, system thinking, transformational leadership and professional development and personal mastery, have the most important role in explaining the organizational learning variance, respectively. The results of compared means showed that there was no significant differences in the perceptions of academic members based on their ranks and occupation in large or small colleges about current situation of contextual and process components, however, there was significant differences in the perception of managers and non- managers regarding current situation of shared vision, system thinking, professional development and personal mastery and transformational leadership. The article ends with several recommendations for improving the current situation of contextual and process components and providing situations for changing agricultural colleges to learning organizations.

Sustainable agricultural development will be achieved through optimal use of environmental resources with viewpoint of protection and conservation of them for next generation. Farmers’ behaviors have important role in quality of these resources. This study was conducted to determine factors affecting farmers’ environmental behaviors and to specify farmers’ environmental behavior model using survey method. A questionnaire was the instrument for data gathering. Multi-stage stratified random sampling was used to collect data from 272 farmers as the research sample. The questionnaire validity was confirmed by a panel of experts, and the questionnaire reliability was assessed with cronbach's alpha (data from pilot study). the results showed that perceived behavioral control and moral norms had the most influence in forming farmers’ environmental attitude. Moral norms and social norms had the most influence in forming farmers’ environmental intention. Eventually, environmental intention, perceived behavioral control, social norms and environmental attitude had the most influence on farmers’ environmental behaviors. Recommendations are 1) providing the moral training for farmers 2) government should facilities the adoption of costly environmental innovations, and 3) providing the training for key persons in rural society.

The main purpose of this study was ranking and assessing factors affecting on the success of rural cooperatives in Zanjan province, Iran. Purposeful proportional stratified sampling was applied to select respondents. For prioritizing factors affecting the success of rural cooperatives in perspective of managers, AHP method was used. Expert Choice Software was used for data analysis. The research findings revealed that appropriate marketing performance, cooperatives and members’ financial power, employees’ education level, managers’ technical skills, amount of participation in cooperative affairs, manager’s human skills and members’ benefit from cooperative, respectively, were the most important internal organizational factors and cooperatives union performance, quality of instructions offered, membership experience, the number of instructional courses offered and knowing the members, were the most external organizational factors on cooperatives success, respectively.

Agriculture is one of the important economic sectors and has a key role in national security. On the other hand, reform and institutionalism for targeted activity of human resources in agriculture precinct is one of the appropriate strategies for agricultural development. In between, agricultural cooperatives have the necessary capabilities. The present study aimed to investigate student's attitudes towards business in the form of agricultural cooperatives.This research was applicable from objective point of view and descriptive-correlation method considering its method, which has been done with survey approach. Statistical population of this study was included senior students in agricultural fields of Shiraz universities in 2010-11 academic year. The sample size was estimated to be 327 persons using Krejcie and Morgan tables. The main tool for data collection was questionnaire and its validity determined by panel of experts and also reliability of research tool was calculated by Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, which was equal to 0.84 for different parts of questionnaire. The results showed that the students understanding about agricultural cooperatives were in lower limit and 42.2 percent of students had positive attitude regarding agricultural cooperatives. The positive and significant relationship was observed between educational field, familiarity with cooperation and attitude about cooperation and activity in form of agricultural cooperatives. The results show that there is significant difference between males and females’ attitude about activity in the form of agricultural cooperatives at 95 percent significance level. Also there is no significant difference between Azad, governmental and Payam-e-Noor university students towards activity in the form of agricultural cooperatives at 95 percent significance level.

Entrepreneurship is one of the essential elements of technology development, innovation promotion, job creation and social welfare. The main purpose of this study is surveying entrepreneurship capacity of students of Bu-Ali Sina University (faculty of agriculture) and find out its determinants. The research is an applied type in which Descriptive-Causal method was employed. The tool for data collection was questionnaire the reliability of which was 79%. Population of the research consisted of 1353 students of Agricultural faculty Bu-Ali Sina University (B.s and M.s students) in 2011, 114 of whom were selected as a sample through probability proportionate sampling. The data were analyzed in two descriptive and inferential parts through SPSS software. In data describing descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage, median, mode, standard deviation, variance, mean, coefficient of variation and other materials have been used. In analyzing the data according to gender variables, statistical tests, correlation coefficients were used. Results show entrepreneurial capacity 20 percent of the students is poor, 33.8 percent moderate, 26.3 percent good and 16 percent is the upper limit. The results showed, there is significant relationship between field of study at the University and participate in training and entrepreneurial capacity. At the end, according to the survey results will provide recommendations are provided to promote the entrepreneurial capacity of students.

Nowadays, most of scholars believe agricultural extension mission in new development paradigm should be toward poverty alleviation. Agricultural extension has done limited activities toward poverty alleviation. Even in those few countries that agricultural extension has done some activities in order to poverty alleviation, it has limited to some sparse projects without continuity. Nevertheless, attention to poverty-oriented agricultural extension is increasing across the world. Enhancing extension staff’s attitude toward poverty-oriented agricultural extension is an important prerequisite. Whereas, there is no evidence toward research which has been done in this context in Iran, analysis of agricultural extension staff’s attitude toward poverty-oriented agricultural extension was the main objective of this research. Based on a random proportional stratified sampling, 192 of agricultural extension staff in Fars province were selected and data were collected using survey method. The research findings revealed that about 55 percent of extension staff had positive attitude toward poverty-oriented agricultural extension. With regard to rural poverty, five categories causes (included cultural, governmental, environmental, individual and socio-structural) were determined among staff. Accordingly, individual causes and then socio-structural factors were more emphasized. Extension staff who attribute the causes of rural poverty to socio-structural, governmental and environmental factors, had more positive attitude toward the necessity of poverty-oriented agricultural extension. Findings also indicated that there is a significant and positive correlation between the attitude toward the mission of poverty alleviation in agricultural system and attitude toward poverty-oriented extension. Variables included age; interest to work with rural people; perception of economical status; income; assets; experience; and amount of contact with rural areas had a significant relationship with attitude toward the necessity of poverty-oriented extension. Furthermore, the staff settled in rural areas had a more positive attitude toward the necessity of poverty-oriented extension. Some applicable recommendations have presented at the end of the article based on research findings.

Information technologies were used in many activates today. The main purpose of this research was investigated the professional information and usage of information technologies by researchers and specialist in staff level of Jehad-Keshavarzi in Iran. This research was a descriptive and co relational research that conducted by survey research. The research instrument was structural questionnaire with close-ended questions, which its validity and reliability was confirmed. The validity of questionnaire was obtained by a panel of agricultural extension and information technology specialist in Tarbiat Modarres University. The target population included all Researchers and Agricultural specialists in Staff level of Jehad-Keshavarzi that among of them, 401 person was chosen by using Krejcie & Morgan’s table through Random sampling technique with probability proportionate methods (n=401). The descriptive results showed that professional information of respondents was in moderate level and level of usage information technology was in good level. Finding showed that there was a negative significance relationship found between ages of respondents with usage of information technologies. Also finding showed that there was a positive and meaningful relationship found between age of experience of use internet, weekly hour access to internet and computer by respondents with usage of information technologies and professional information. The results of multivariate linear regression indicated that independent variables could explain 20 percent of variance in professional information and 29 percent of variance in usage of information technology.