Reza Esfanjari Kenari; Mahmoud Ahmadpour Borazjani; Ahmad Ali Kaikha; Saman Ziaei; Mashala Salarpour
Volume 10, Issue 3 , Summer 2020, , Pages 257-265
Abstract
A reason for the success of the agricultural sector in developed countries is the regulation of farm size as it allows for the scale economy of production. Considering that the size of agricultural production units should be specifically determined based on the crop and the area where it is produced, ...
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A reason for the success of the agricultural sector in developed countries is the regulation of farm size as it allows for the scale economy of production. Considering that the size of agricultural production units should be specifically determined based on the crop and the area where it is produced, this study aims to determine the optimum size of rice farms in Fereydunkenar County, Mazandaran Province. So, 198 farmers were randomly interviewed in 2014. The results show that the optimal economic size of the farms in the study area is 1.949 ha, 43% larger than the average cultivation area in the region. The results of the technical efficiency using the Stochastic Nonparametric Envelopment of Data model (StoNED) also show that paddy size has a direct correlation with the efficiency of these units in the studied area and production in larger farms is more economical and efficient. Therefore, it is suggested to consider plans to encourage rice farmers to establish cooperatives and change their farm management style from small farm owning to integrated management.
Decision-making
Somayeh Shirzadi Laskookalayeh; Reza Esfanjari Kenari
Volume 8, Issue 4 , Autumn 2018, , Pages 465-474
Abstract
Frequent droughts and their consequences result in the loss of groundwater, the deficiency of nutrients, the drying of surface water resources, and substantially more exploitation of the groundwater resources, which, altogether, cause the mobilization of saline waters to groundwater tables. This will ...
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Frequent droughts and their consequences result in the loss of groundwater, the deficiency of nutrients, the drying of surface water resources, and substantially more exploitation of the groundwater resources, which, altogether, cause the mobilization of saline waters to groundwater tables. This will impair the capacity of the aquifers and the quality of the water. The VIKOR method was applied to determine the best feasible solution according to the selected criteria including the local rainfall status in different years, soil permeability, land slope, and water quality indicators, including SAR, RSC, salinity for determination of groundwater resources quality and land-use restrictions in the Kashmar Plain in the northeast of Iran. The results of sampling performed on the Kashmar Plain showed that water quality was lost as one moved from the northern groundwater tables to the southern ones. The excessive use of groundwater resources, the downfall of the groundwater level, and subsequently, the increased salinity account for the loss of the agricultural water quality and the land-use restrictions. Furthermore, the results of the model within years 2010 and 2014 showed that if the current form of indiscriminate exploitation of groundwater resources is kept, it will lead to the mobilization of the salinity to the lowly-saline upstream regions. Therefore, it is necessary to focus on sustainable management of groundwater resources, control their indiscriminate exploitation, and minimize the damage to the groundwater tables in the study site. In addition, agronomists should work on limiting the use of agricultural land by modifying the cropping pattern and on using deficit-irrigation methods.
Environmental policy and management
Reza Esfanjari kenari; Zohre Karami; Seyadeh Sedighe Ahmadzade
Volume 7, Issue 2 , Spring 2017, , Pages 237-244
Abstract
This paper presents an analysis of technical efficiency and technology gap ratio (TGR) in greenhouse cucumber in Fars Province, Iran. Cucumber production was chosen for this study for the reason that greenhouse productions in this provincemainly have focused on this product. The data used ...
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This paper presents an analysis of technical efficiency and technology gap ratio (TGR) in greenhouse cucumber in Fars Province, Iran. Cucumber production was chosen for this study for the reason that greenhouse productions in this provincemainly have focused on this product. The data used in this study was obtained from a random sample of 127 greenhouses in Fars Province for 2010 to 2011. Metafrontier production function model for firms was used within the parametric framework of stochastic frontier analysis (SFA). The frontier models are applied in the analysis of cross-sectional data by assuming a translog functional form. Results indicate that eliminating energy input subsidies has led to significant decrease in greenhouse cucumber production efficiency so that the mean technical efficiency declined from 98% to 67 % during 2010-2011. Furthermore, subsidies elimination has also led to decrease of the mean technology gap ratio in greenhouses from 0.92 to 0.87, in other words, it has caused more distance from efficient production frontier.
