Classification of determinant factors of irrigated vegetable problems using exploratory factor analysis in Swaida governorate, Syria

Abstract

The objective of this research was to classify the determinant factors of irrigated vegetable problems and the amount of variance that is explained by each factor in Swaida Governorate/ Syria by using the Exploratory Factor Analysis. The research is based on the data which were collected through questionnaires that were obtained according to the opinions of farmers. It included questions about some of the social and economic characteristics of farmers, and the concerning problems related to irrigated agriculture by using multiple-choice questions (on a 3-point scale) during the 2019-2020 Based on a sample size of 92 farmers, representing 54.9 % of the studied statistical community, and distributed randomly within the areas of spread of irrigated vegetable cultivation.. The results showed the success of using the exploratory factor analysis technique, using the Principal components methodology and Varimax in classifying six factors with an initial eigenvalues greater than one for each, and these factors are: agricultural technological progress, agricultural employment, sale outlets, natural conditions, prices, production requirements. These factors explained (13.21 %, 12.65 %, 12.55 %, 11.12 %, 10.94 %, and 9.85 %) of the total variance respectively, and together explained 70.33 %.

Keywords

• exploratory factor analysis
• principal component
• factors
• Varimax
• irrigated vegetables