3RD INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON TECHNOLOGY - ENGINEERING & SCIENCE - Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia (2017-02-09)

Assessing Commodity-oriented Rural Development In Iran: (a Case Study On The Factors Affecting Benefit-ability Of The Potato Farmers In Ardabil Province)
Every year many plans are designed and projects are managed to develop rural regions in Iran. The project of increasing potato productivity is the one which was designed by the Vegetable Office of the Ministry of Agriculture and supported by the World Bank. Its top-down and corporate-man approach prevented creativity and cross-cultural interactions and enforced a culture of silence and obedience by over focusing on the subsidies. It was implemented in two phases: from 1997 to 2001 through to 2010 in the potato producing areas of Ardabil province in Iran. The objectives have been increasing food security and improving productivity through subsidizing the inputs and extension programs to finally contribute to the region’s process of rural development. This paper aims to assess the effective factors (e.g., economic, social and personal characteristics) which affect benefit-ability of the potato producers. Also the impact of the project on the process of rural development will be discussed. Descriptive-analytical method through the field survey and comparative analyses along with the qualitative SWOT analysis were implemented. The statistical population was potato farmers in Ardabil Province. Kucran formula and stratified randomized sampling method was used. A structured questionnaire for gathering the data and variation analyses of LSD method, and T. Test were applied. Socio-economic status of farmers underline fair distribution of services . Based on the results, the farmers with larger lands and more agricultural machinery, more contacts with extension agents and opinion leaders in community, and with higher level of education and those who were the members of social networks, had been benefited more than the others by the project. Farmers’ participation in planning and policy making was little. Regression analysis showed that the land-size ownership, had affected benefit ability from the extension trainings, the subsidized pesticides and fertilizers. Also the research findings showed that more facilities were accessible for the bigger farmers which consequently widened the economic gap in the rural community. The project outcome was a remarkable increase in potato produce without any planning for postharvest investments that negatively affected rural economy in the next phase and following years. The research recommendation states that the agricultural development projects need a systemic or a holistic approach and are to redirect their attention from disciplinary activity towards trans-disciplinary and from advantaged farmers to small farmers in a participatory manner. It also demonstrates that in funding of the financially supported projects by the governments, in many cases a critical perspective on the applying methodology and techniques, is needed.
Keywords: Potato farmers, participation, rural development, productivity project, Iran
Ahmad Khatoonabadi