Analysing Multifunctional Agriculture Components in Dehloran Township

Abstract

Multifunctional Agriculture Development requires an understanding of regional conditions before making any decisions or planning. The purpose of this descriptive survey study was to investigate the status of agriculture in Dehloran Township, Ilam province, based on three functions of multifunctional agriculture: production of food, environmental function and rural function. The population comprised of agricultural experts at Agricultural Jihad Organization and related offices in Dehloran Township (N=25) and farmers (N=5517) from which 365 individuals were selected from five districts of Markazi, Moosian, Dasht abas, Zarin Abad and Meimeh, according to Morgan table and using simple random sampling technique. Data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire. The data were analyzed using the Prescott-Allen segmentation as well as the prioritization of variables by calculating the critical degree. It can be said that based on Prescott-Allen's agriculture division, Dehloran Township is, on average, multifunctional and agricultural utility of this township is almost undesirable in terms of environmental function and average in rural and productive functions. In terms of production and rural functions, the rural function was better than the production function. According to the results, there were differences between the districts in terms of the three functions. It is necessary that multifunctional agricultural development planners pay particular attention to the variables associated with each function appropriate to each district, especially the critical variables, so that by identifying the resources, facilities, problems, bottlenecks and constraints of each district, they can enhance agricultural functions and facilitate the development of multi-functional agriculture in Dehloran Township.

Keywords

• multifunctional agriculture
• production function
• environmental function
• rural function