Identifying Cultivation Barriers of Medicinal Plants in Rural Areas of Nahavand County by Thematic Analysis Approach

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify barriers to the development of medicinal plants in Nahavand in 2019. The sample size was 11 experts and 5 farmers who were selected through targeted snowball sampling. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect data using the thematic analysis approach. The results were 22 main themes which were determined by MAXQDA10 quality software. The main topics in this study were "supportive-supervisory barriers" and "managerial barriers". The results of this study showed that insufficient conversion and complementary industries, farmers' lack of knowledge of the market, the inability of farmers to package and sell, and lack of planning for crop development are among the obstacles to the development of medicinal plants in Nahavand. A comprehensive (financial-information) support system can be effective in reducing barriers and developing cultivation. This system can have public, information and financial parts. In the "Personal Information" section of this system, all personal and economic details of cultivation applicants can be registered. In the "Specific Information" section, all areas prone to cultivating different types of medicinal plants and how to plant and harvest them can be identified. In the "Communication Channels" section, all relevant experts can be introduced.

Keywords

• medicinal plants
• theme analysis
• rural development
• nahavand county