JWSS - Journal of Water and Soil Science

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Agricultural insurance is one of the appropriate ways to overcome the risk in agricultural production and to increase farmers’ income security. In this study, the influence of wheat insurance, as personal-free insurance, and sugar beet insurance, as group-forcible insurance, on farmers’ risk attitudes in Fars Province were investigated as a case study. Data were collected using stratified multi-stage cluster sampling method and interviews in the years 1375-1376. The sample included wheat and sugar beet farmers in three different climates including Mediterranean, warm sub-desert and cold mountainous in Fars Province. Results of estimating risk aversion coefficients of farmers, using Safety First Rule (SFR), showed that sugar beet forcible insurance along with giving inputs, mechanization services, lookout of farms by sugar plants led to continuous insurance purchase by farmers in consecutive years. Therefore, sugar beet farmers tended to welcome insurance and the effect of insurance on their risk aversion coefficients was positive. However, discontinuity of insurance purchase by wheat farmers in consecutive years and farmers’ lack of confidence in insurace system caused the influence of insurance on wheat farmers’ risk aversion coefficient to be insignificant. Thus, sugar beet insurance type is closer than wheat insurance type to one of the main aims of agricultural insurance system, which is increasing farmers’ tendency to take risks.

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The main objective of the present study is to investigate the production and marketing of fresh figs in Garmsar Region. Semnan Province has the largest area under fresh figs in Iran. About 84 percent of this area is in Garmsar region, hence, it was selected as the study area. Data were collected by random sampling method through interviews with a sample of 70 fresh fig producers in Garmsar region in summer 1999. The production functions of fresh figs were estimated using translog form for the study region. Technical efficiencies for fresh fig producers were estimated using translog stochastic frontier production function. Results of the current study revealed that farmers are not using some of the inputs optimally. Study of technical efficiency of fresh fig producers did not show the possibility of increasing production by increasing farmers’ technical efficiencies. The average of retail, wholesale and marketing margins of one kilogram of fresh figs were estimated to be 900, 550 and 1450 Rials, respectively. Also, marketing efficiency was calculated as 151%.

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This study shows how multiobjective programming, compromise programming and filtering techniques could be used to manage scarce resources. Data were collected from a sample of 109 Rafsanjan pistachio producers. The aim of the program was to make a compromise between the objectives of profit maximization, the maximization of the area under pistachio gardens and also maximization of the groundwater use. The multiobjective programming approach and filtering techniques were used to find the efficient set among these objectives. A compromise between the objectives was established by the compromise programming method. Although none of the above three objectives achieved completely in the compromise solution, it became nearer to the ideal point on the assumption that the importance of three objectives was the same. By omitting this assumption and considering the objective weights based on decision maker preferences, the compromise solution might become nearer to the ideal point.

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This paper investigates the effects of wheat production risk and other socio-economic factors on the probability of adopting new seed technologies. Also, the effects of production inputs and production conditions are examined on wheat production yield and risk. Moreover, the relative risk of new seed varieties will be examined under different scenarios. To carry out the study, farm-level data was collected from a sample of 187 wheat farms located in Fars province, and selected by multi stage random sampling method during the years 2001 and 2002. A generalized stochastic production function by a three-stage estimation procedure was used to determine the influential factors on the production yield and risk. The results showed that yield uncertainty could not be sufficiently explained by the level of input use in the cultivation of both wheat varieties. The comparison of two wheat varieties cultivation indicated that in the absence of suitable production conditions, on the average, the cultivation of new wheat varieties ensures greater yield than traditional wheat varieties, but involves greater risk, as measured by yield variance. Accordingly, the farmers’ risk aversion attitude could be a major factor inhibiting speedy diffusion of new wheat varieties, which besides having greater average yield than traditional wheat varieties, it has less production risk. The results indicated that the risk associated with seed has negative effect on the adoption of new seed technologies.

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The endogenous selection and determination of return reference level is important in specifying risk efficient set. Thus, using multi-objective programming, Target–MOTAD in the framework of Mean-PAD and maximin parametric analysis models was established to obtained reference level of return endogenously. To determine non–inferior set for the farmers understudy, at first, the pay-off matrix was obtained through maximizing objectives under consideration. Then, upper and lower bounds of non-inferior set were determined using non- inferior set estimation (NISE) technique. The results obtained from maximin model indicated that Min and Max of maximin model were 270252 and 217753 thousands Rials, respectively. Furthermore, a subset of non-inferior set was obtained using different return reference levels. Comparing the results of model and the current farmers' plan showed that the current acreage of crops, except for sugar beet was approximately placed in the range determined by the model. In addition, the results also indicated that farmers' plan could be a non- inferior set. Considering the importance and also scarcity of water in the study area, average water return in the farmers' plan was compared to non-inferior set which included all the upper and lower non-inferior set. The results showed that farmers obtained 18150 Rials per hours of used water. However, average water return changed the range of 19100 to 30200 Rials for non-inferior set, indicating that farmers are able to use water more efficiently. The results also showed that changing farmers' cropping pattern is a complicated task and that it is necessary to have a systematic view in ordere to achieve desirable change.