SPACE ECONOMY & RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Evaluating the effects and consequences of strategic initiatives for rural economic development Case: Khuzestan Province

Seyed Hassan Motiee Langroudi

Introduction
In recent years, environmental concerns have been raised as one of the major global challenges and issues that affect countries both individually and collectively, so efforts to integrate the principles and aims of sustainability and environmental as well as economic and social considerations have become one of the main priorities of development planners and politicians, including rural development decision makers. In this regard, strategic approaches to environmental assessment are the most powerful methods and tools to achieve the aforementioned goal, which can be available to rural development planners and decision makers. These approaches are formal, systematic, and comprehensive processes that separately or integrated with planning systems identify, predict, evaluate, address, and mitigate biophysical, economic, and other aspects of development before making key decisions and adopting strategic actions. The approach is currently being introduced in many countries as a support tool for decision-making and a prerequisite for the approval, prescribing, implementation of economic policies, plans and programs, and economic investment projects. Today, due to the extraordinary capabilities of strategic approaches to environmental assessment, their application in the rural development planning and decision-making system is considered as an inevitable necessity. Based on the experiences of several decades of development planning in Iran, focused on rapid economic growth has led to neglecting environmental, economic and social considerations in various national, regional and local development activities and initiatives. rural areas, as a result, are not exception from significant and uncontrollable damage to human and natural environment. This is especially true for Khuzestan Province in south west of Iran, especially its rural areas, which are directly dependent on natural resources and environmental capital for their livelihood and are subject to many development projects. By such an approach, the purpose of this study is to conceptualize the strategic approach of environmental assessment in rural development planning. In addition to its application to screen environmental effects and consequences of the strategic plan of economic development of counties in Khuzestan, as one of the most important and effective strategic initiatives for rural and urban settlement development.

Methodology
The present research is applied based on the purpose and type of research, and descriptive and survey (analytical) methods in terms of nature and method. Strategic environmental screening of the strategic plan of economic development in Khuzestan Province has been done in the framework of fuzzy Delphi technique and with the advice and survey of 26 responsible practitioners in various fields related to rural planning and to 33 key environmental components. According to this framework, two basic conditions such as the percentage of consensus of experts equal to / or more than 75%. Moreover, the condition of standard rank based on the definite value of environmental importance equal to / or above the threshold (0.7) was considered as acceptance environmental significance criteria. The opinions of the expert group were collected and analyzed using a checklist and a screening matrix based on a 7-point Likert scale.

Discussion and conclusion
Strategic environmental screening findings showed that, from the perspective of the expert group, the effects and environmental consequences of the strategic plan of economic growth and development for Khuzestan counties on 25 key environmental components, including the effect on biodiversity and habitats, population (concentration and migration), human welfare and livelihood, environmental health, flora (vegetation), soil, surface water resources, air quality, climatic conditions, material assets and renewable and non-renewable natural resources, rural landscape, land use, waste generation, rural and urban settlements, transport and communications, industrial structures, national and international protected and natural areas, national and international protected cultural areas, densely populated areas, areas with intensive land use. All of these components are in “noticeable” level and in the future can cause the formation and aggravation of environmental problems and issues. Screening findings also showed that based on the consensus of the Expert Group (POC) and definite values of environmental importance (Amax/CV), the effects of strategic initiative on 8 environmental components including risk and impact on human health, animal cover, groundwater resources, architecture and ancient values, hazardous substances into the environment, the effect on areas with different protection regimes and other environmental components are less than the threshold of 0.7 and in the form of "non-noticeable". Given that, it can be concluded that the strategic plan of economic growth and development of Khuzestan counties for many screening criteria and key environmental components are vital. Furthermore, its implementation can have significant effects and consequences and irreversible damage to the environment of rural and urban areas. Thus, based on the findings of strategic environmental screening, the need for accurate environmental and technical assessments of the strategic initiatives to identify and analyze the effects and, if necessary, review, modify, improve or change the designed content and strategies. Also, it is recommended to anticipate and prepare appropriate mitigation actions.

The effect of Omid Entrepreneurship Fund financial support on investment and employment functions in rural areas with emphasis on small and medium enterprises

Asghar Noor-allahzadeh

Introduction
Increase in unemployment rate, along with growing resource depletion, is one of the economic-cultural challenges of many developing countries, including Iran. These problems are more deep and complex in rural areas. In other words, our society has been suffering from a lack of production for many years, and consequently, a high unemployment rate in rural areas, which has led to an increase in the rate of migration from rural to urban areas. Thus, in order to provide mutual financial support to small and medium-sized businesses with the priority of creating employment in rural and less privileged areas, it was licensed as a non-governmental public institution. The fund, as a support leverage of public governance, provides financial support to skilled individuals, females heads of households, villagers, elites and entrepreneurs in the form of creating a market-oriented micro-business in the form of “synergistic networking” with strategies for attracting public participation through the creation and development of local micro-funds, the development of charitable partnerships and the use of the capacity and economic benefits of the country in the development of micro and household industries with the priority of rural areas.
How to finance and invest by public and private groups, individual or group borrowers will be important and fundamental issues that play a decisive role in the success of the operation of micro-financial institutions because credit limits and how to provide collateral by borrowers and finance the institutions is one of the issues that play an important role in the success of these institutions. The more these institutions have a well-codified and well-planned program to overcome these limitations, the higher their success rate. This leads to the growth and development of rural areas. Finally, sustainable development will be accompanied by an increase in investment, production, employment, income, reducing the unemployment rate, equitable distribution of income, and etc. For this reason, the role of financing micro, small, medium businesses in Omid Entrepreneurship Fund as an organization for providing financial services, and examining how it affects the investment functions of this sector is of great importance in the issue of creating employment in rural areas and preventing migration to cities. Therefore, this study seeks to ask whether the financial services of Omid Entrepreneurship Fund have a positive effect on investment and employment functions in rural areas?

Methodology
The present article is descriptive-analytical in terms of purpose, application method, and conducted with econometric method. Its statistical population includes all small and medium workshops located in urban and rural parts of the country, which had less than fifty employees at the time of sampling. Also, the required information and data have been extracted through the library and field methods. Data related to SME financing discussion have been extracted and used from Omid Entrepreneurship Fund statistics system, as well as data related to value-added variables, number of employees, annual and per capita service compensation costs, investment value, in addition to statistics related to the ICT section, the two-digit ISIC classification codes was collected from the Statistics Center of Iran. Adding to these, the price adjustment rate was provided from the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran. International Standard Classification of All Economic Activities (ISIC) consists of a coherent and uniform structure for the classification of economic activities based on a set of internationally agreed concepts, definitions, principles and rules of classification. This classification provides a comprehensive framework within which economic data can be collected and reported in a format designed for the purposes of economic analysis, decision-making, and policy-making. The classification structure provides a standard format for organizing detailed information about the state of a country's economy according to economic principles and awareness.

Discussion and conclusion
The value added of small and medium businesses has an upward trend from 2008 to 2014 and only in 2015 due to inflation and other fluctuations in the commodity market has decreased. In other words, it can be said that in all the study years, the value added trend has been an upward trend and only in the last year, due to the weakening of the power of small and medium enterprises, they have had a decreasing value added. Value added in 2008 started with 34.870 billion Rials and by 2014 has almost tripled to 92.292 billion Rials and decreased in 2015 to 84.913 billion Rials. The value of investment in small and medium enterprises, such as the value added of this sector, has increased until 2014, but has decreased in 2015. In fact, investment in small and medium enterprises in 2008 has increased from 6.421 billion Rials to 13.589 billion Rials in 2014, i.e., more than double the increase. but in 1394 this figure decreased to 11.336 billion Rials with a declining trend. One of the reasons for this is the effect of high inflation and reduced activity in small and medium enterprises due to the lack of profitability obtained from this type of economic activity. Given the results of the estimated models, it is concluded that the coefficients and parameters of the model, have a logical relationship with job creation in rural areas, despite being significant at an acceptable level. Thus, the variable coefficient of capital price has a negative relationship with employment in this sector. The price of capital, investment in this sector has increased, which leads to an increase in production, hence growth rural employment, which is a positive relationship for production or value added and labor wages in this sector. This will lead to increase in production or value added and labor wages, employment in villages. As a matter of fact, the amount of employment elasticity in rural areas is 0.83% regarding production or value added, which means that with an increase of 1% value added, employment in this sector increases by 0.83%. This elasticity (elasticity of labor force employment) for compensation of labor force services and the price of capital is 0.15 and 0.07 percent, respectively. That is, in exchange for one percent increase in the compensating cost for labor services, employment increases by 0.15 percent, and in exchange for one percent reduction in interest rates, 0.07 percent employment increases.

Spatial Analysis of Job Creation and Rural Entrepreneurship Credits in Khorasan Razavi Province

Aliakbar Anabestani

Introduction
Understanding the spatial distribution of job creation credits in rural areas of the country and planning based on is a way for the economic development of rural, which will result in the prosperity of the country's economy. Therefore, it is essential to know how the spatial distribution of rural employment credits in different areas for planning and informed intervention in this field. Furthermore, the study of the spatial distribution process of allocating job creation credits leads to identifying areas with poor performance in this regard. This recognition means that in the redistribution of capital resources, it is necessary to have a larger share of public payments to the weaker areas and changes in the spatial distribution of credit allocation activities to develop employment in these areas, in which case the comparative benefits of these areas increases and investors become more willing to invest in them. In this regard, determining the spatial distribution of credits and the process of job creation of sectors and major groups of economic activities and their spatial distribution in rural areas of Khorasan Razavi province is the purpose of this study. According to the above, the main goal of the research is to identify the privileged and underprivileged areas based on the distribution of credits related to employment to create a relative balance between different regions of the province. Despite being industrial and having employment opportunities, Khorasan Razavi province has many problems and anomalies regarding fair distribution. Interfering factors in the unequal spatial distribution of employment development facilities have led to increased migration flows, unbalanced economic facilities, spatial and welfare inequalities, and increased development gaps between rural areas. Therefore, learning the spatial distribution of job creation and distribution of credits is very important in providing spatial justice in distributing these indicators. Therefore, the main research question is the study of the spatial distribution of rural entrepreneurship credits in the rural areas of the cities of Khorasan Razavi province in 13 job fields?

Research Methods
The present study is descriptive-analytical, at the level of Khorasan Razavi province and by city. The required information is from the data of the General Department of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare of Khorasan Razavi Province, which to register and receive loans for entrepreneurial credits in thirteen main fields of energy, recycling, product packaging, ecotourism, livestock and agriculture, clothing, health, Saffron and medicinal herbs, rural services, handicrafts, greenhouse products, tourism and ecotourism, and information technology. First, while examining the spatial distribution of rural entrepreneurship facilities and credits in different fields in the cities of Khorasan Razavi province in 1998, we used GIS software to show how the spatial distribution of employment loans in the province's cities. Next, using the MABAC method, the distribution of loans received by the villagers was ranked. Later, using the obtained data identified the most important areas of business paid grants in the province's cities. Then the amount of paid grants in each area and separately in the province's cities were determined.

Discussion and Conclusion
The concentration of economic factors in a region plays an essential role in the formation of regional inequalities. Regional balances in the distribution of job creation opportunities enable government officials to make favorable decisions for the productivity and development of regions, and this contributes to regional economic growth. Therefore, although the geographical distribution of regional employment facilities has been the focus of empirical and theoretical studies of some researchers, the existence of regional inequalities in economic functions, primarily regional employment conditions, is an important issue. It is always the concern of national and regional policymakers. The results of studies in each of the subdivisions of the distribution of job creations credits showed that the most credits allocated in each field in different cities are as follows: energy in Binaloud and Kalat, recycling, rural services, and clothing in Sabzevar, Packaging in Khalil Abad, ecotourism in Chenaran, livestock and agriculture in Quchan, health in Joghatay, saffron, medicinal herbs, and greenhouse products in Mashhad, handicrafts in Kalat, tourism and ecotourism in Torbat-e Jam, and information technology in Zaveh. Based on the results of this research and the analysis performed in the MABAC model, the highest amount of loans and occupation facilities was allocated to Mashhad city with 9 billion and 610 million Tomans and the lowest to Davarzan with 655 million Tomans. Therefore, we can say that Mashhad city, as the center of the province and rural areas around this metro, has the possibility of doing more activities, so they have the largest amount of loans and credits received. These conditions indicate that there is inequality between the province's cities in terms of the amounts allocated in loans and credits. In addition, the results of previous studies such as Bakhtiari (2002), Misri Nejad and Turki (2004), and Barghi et al. (2011) show that economic and business variables are unequally distributed at the regional level. This form of distribution affects the incidence of regional inequalities. Accumulation of capital and financial resources leads to the growth of labor, employment, and foreign direct investment, creating a competitive market structure, improving human capital, creating institutional changes, improving infrastructure, increasing savings rates, initial productivity, and so on.

Rural tourism capacity measurement and its role in the spatial and economic development in mountain areas Case study: villages in the central district of Damavand township

Aliakbar Najafi kani

Introduction
The tourism industry can provide a good platform for investment, and because of its less reliance on resources, provides an opportunity for less developed countries to stimulate their economic growth to increase production and create job opportunities. Meanwhile, the villages have very favorable and special conditions in accordance with their cultural, social, economic, geographical and natural structure. Today, tourists are interested in visiting farms, orchards, groves, springs, cultural and tourist landscapes in rural settlements. Therefore, planning to use them to develop rural tourism is inevitable. Undoubtedly, rural tourism is a reliable source in many developed and developing countries, which can have a significant impact on increasing the income of villagers. One of the biggest benefits of the rural tourism sector is to create income and increase wages, and consequently to improve the economic situation for the people who work there. Accordingly, the overall purpose of this study is to investigate the capacity of tourism development and provide solutions to develop tourism in mountainous villages near the metropolis of Tehran.
Damavand County is in Tehran Province, which has been selected as a typical tourism region of Iran. According to the 2016 census, its population is 125480 people. This county with an area of 1932 square kilometers, includes five districts named Damavand, Absard, Kilan, Rudehen and Abali, two districts including central and Rudehen and 111 villages. Its average height above sea level is 2300 meters.
The center of this county (Damavand city) is located 75 km away from Tehran and has an average height of 2051 meters and its population is 48380 people.
The central district of the county consists of three rural districts, Jam Abroud, (Absard city as capital), Abarshiveh Rural District, (Sarbandan village as the capital), and Tarrud Rural District, (Mara village as the capital), which overall have 87 villages.
Damavand mountainous and countryside county, with its many capabilities and diverse geographical landscapes, has potential and actual capabilities to attract tourists. Abali track, lakes such as Tar and Havir lakes, several waterfalls such as Tizab, Ayeneh Rud. Cheshmeh A'la and Roodafshan Cave and its numerous springs, beautiful gardens and farms, and a very pleasant climate are among its tourist attractions.
The most important attractions of this area attract many nature enthusiasts. For many years, it has been used by the public, especially the residents of the metropolis of Tehran, and many travelers travel from other areas, so comprehensive understanding, design, and proper management to develop tourism in this area is essential and inevitable. Accordingly, the present study, by examining and explaining the important factors of tourism development, tries to consider the welfare of present and future generations, improvement in the quality of life and finally improvement of economic and social welfare level and creating a healthy rural environment in the study area. According to the mentioned issues, the fundamental questions of the research are as follows:

What is the capacity of rural tourism in the studied villages?
What are the key strategies to solve tourism issues in rural areas?

Research Methodology
Research type is applied research and the research method is descriptive-analytical and field study. The statistical population of the present study is rural households living in the twelve studied villages that according to the 2016 census the population is equal to 14024 people and 3600 households, 15 questions in this research as tourism development capacity and 18 questions as possible challenges for tourism development. It was set in a five-level Likert item (very low, low, medium, high and very high). Tables 1 and 2 demonstrate the reliability of the research instrument using Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the studied components which were 79%, the sample size was 260 by using Cochran's formula and the number of samples was randomly simple/systematic after measuring, the generators were analyzed by using SPSS software and using a hierarchical cluster analysis method.

Discussion and Conclusions
The results of studies in the field of rural tourism show that tourism is an important factor in the occurrence of positive and negative changes in the economic, social and environmental fields at the local and regional levels. Although this activity can lead to the development of rural areas, it can have both adverse consequences. The results of the Friedman Test for measuring the tourism development capacity explain a significant difference at the 99% level with each other. Also, for the challenges of tourism development a significant and 95% difference between the investigated indices is observed. The results of the hierarchical cluster analysis test (neighborhood matrix calculations) Euclidean distance of each village is compared to the next village and based on this, the similarities and differences of the villages have been explained. Then, the clustering process is done in eleven stages, and the studied villages are classified into four categories in terms of tourism capacity. The first cluster villages (Moomej, Jaban Ayneh Varzan) and the second cluster villages (Sarbandan, Zan, Seyyedabad, Havir, Dehnar and Shalambeh) have the most tourism development capacity respectively. Although the third cluster village (Vadan) and the fourth cluster villages (Sorkh Deh and Hashemak) have many tourist attractions compared to the first and second cluster villages, they have lower tourism development capacity. The studied villages are also divided into four categories in terms of the challenges of tourism development. The first cluster village (Moomej village) and the second cluster villages (Jaban, Sarbandan, Vadan, Zan, Ayneh Varzan, Seyyedabad, and Dehnar) have the most challenges in tourism development, respectively. However, the villages of the third cluster (Havir and Shalambeh) and the villages of the fourth cluster (Sorkh Deh and Hashemak) have the least challenges respectively. It can be concluded that while some villages have a high tourism potential based on studied indicators, some of them are also more vulnerable. Therefore, the endeavor of all local managers and officials towards the comprehensive management of rural tourism development is essential and inevitable.

The role of rural management in socio-economic development of villages in the central region of Guilan Province

Nasrollah Molaei Hashjin

Introduction
The rural management system in Iran has undergone complex transformations in terms of socio-economic structures over the years, and efficient management void in rural areas in the long run, especially in recent decades, has posed many obstacles for villagers.
In this regard, it is necessary to explain the importance of local management in all dimensions and explain the role of local managers in performing tasks in rural areas in order to increase productivity, efficiency. After the formation of Islamic councils, and subsequently the establishment of rural municipality paved the way for giving the people the authority to manage. This leads to social capital in these areas, which can follow ensue further development.
In the present study, we first identify the weaknesses, strengths, opportunities and threats of the current rural management system, and then by reforming the rural management system, it provided conditions for the socio-cultural and economic development of villages in the central region of Guilan Province. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the rural management system and rural economic and socio-cultural development in the central region of Guilan Province.

Methodology
According to the purpose, nature and method, this study is considered as an applied and descriptive-analytical research, respectively. In order to achieve the purpose of the research, the technique of direct observation was utilized in five dimensions to obtain data on the status and level of development of the studied counties. The statistical population of the study is the central area of Guilan province, villages depending on their height above the sea level are in two classes: coastal-plain and foothill-mountain. In order to select the samples in the villages of each county in the central region two criteria of population and geographical situation were considered. 120 villages were randomly selected from the villages from six counties of the region. Descriptive and inferential statistical methods as well as SPSS software were used to explain the central tendency and variability. Tables based on the T test and Arc GIS was used to produce the maps.

Discussion and conclusion
In this study, rural development in the central region of Guilan has been studied as a dependent variable in both economic and socio-cultural dimensions. In order to study rural management in two socio-cultural and economic dimensions, 33 items are considered "socio-cultural" and 31 items are considered "economic".
The item of raising the level of scientific knowledge of the villagers has obtained the lowest average score (3.17) in a total of 33 items studied in the socio-cultural dimension. In general, the average score of all social items is 3.71, which is higher than the mean, or 3, so it can be concluded that the improvement of rural management system is effective for socio-cultural development of villages. Also, the improvement of rural management system provides the socio-cultural development of the villages. It was also found that the items of cooperation with the Civil Registration Organization, recognizing social and cultural deficiencies and suggesting plans, introducing orphaned kids to support institutions, providing cultural and educational facilities and preparing support plans were among the most important items.
In general, the average score of all economic items is 3.55, which is higher than the mean, or 3, so it can be concluded that improving the rural management system is effective on rural economic development. The items “estimation and regulation of annual rural budget", “business licensing", "impact of improving new management on rural economic development", "types of rural insurance" and "preparation of reform plans and proposals" in the economic sector with the highest scores, thereby are more important and effective than other items.
According to the findings of the present study, rural management in the central region of Guilan has economic and socio-cultural disadvantages. Therefore, suggestions in each of the dimensions of economic and socio-cultural development are presented as follows:

Predicting credits and facilities to support rural entrepreneurship according to the capacities of each village.
Preparing priority employment-generating plans in order to enjoy government support from the executive management of the villages based on the capabilities of each of the villages in the district.

Holding educational programs for Islamic village councils and rural governors relating to their various duties, rights and laws and regulations.
Holding rural employment and entrepreneurship training courses for villagers in the central area of Guilan.

Diplomacy and the pattern of spatial distribution of activity and population in border villages Case: Zahak county

Iraj Ghasemi

Introduction
The government is the first and most powerful decision-maker and actor in the field of spatial structure. Spatial structure is an essential part of the battle for control and protection of individuals and society. In fact, spatial planning and land use management is the manifestation of the government authority in the form of setting rules and allocating resources and decision-making. Border areas are one of the most strategic areas for government intervention. These areas have special characteristics due to contact with the internal and external environment regarding the effect of diplomacy. Therefore, planning with the aim of sustainable development of settlements, especially border areas, creates the requirement for spatial organization of rural areas so that macro and national issues, such as security issues can be organized more accurately and efficiently.
Zahak County is one of the special border areas in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, which is of special importance due to trade, the existence of a border market, Helmand river entrence and water diplomacy. The article aims to investigate the role of macro-management and diplomacy and its economic consequences on the structure and organization of space in Zahak County. The present study explore political developments and decisions affect the economy and spatial structure (activity, communication and housing) of Zahak County, and also the spatial changes have occurred. For a deeper understanding of the developments in the study area, this article shows the political decisions taken at the national, regional and local levels, and seeks that what changes have made in the economic structures and functions of settlements? Furthermore, what the consequences of these changes for the space organization of the residential system are?

Methodology
The general approach to the study is an integrated approach, both quantitative and qualitative, and an emphasis on integration to overcome the shortcomings of each approach. Therefore, the research method is descriptive-analytical. In the theoretical part of the research, using a qualitative approach and a library method. The theories and principles governing the study were explained, and then the position of power and policy in regional planning was examined.
In the quantitative and field studies section, 184 special questionnaires for village managers were distributed in all villages with more than 20 households in the county and 10 interviews were conducted with managers of government offices and organizations in Zahak County.

Discussion and conclusion
The results show that under the influence of diplomacy between the two border countries, with the closure of the border market and the creation of a border wall, the economy of rural areas and activity in the east of the county, which is based on trade and agriculture, has declined. In addition, due to unemployment and lack of economic activity in many villages, they were evacuated and disserted. Moreover, ethnic and cultural diversity has paved the way for the instability of newly established settlements by pursuing a policy of rural relocation. With centralization and support for population centers, the pattern of communication flows in the city is a polarized pattern emphasizing Zahak and Zabol cities, which does not follow the pattern of networks and has provided the ground for instability and decline for villages outside the network.
This study showed that the spatial pattern of rural activity and economy is influenced by water and soil resources, which corresponds to national, regional and local diplomacy. In other words, the political and power relations between the governments of Iran and Afghanistan have affected agricultural activity and even industry and population dispersion.
The economic structure of the villages, which was based on agriculture, animal husbandry and horticulture, has currently changed into informal, illegal and smuggling jobs due to the developments and major national decisions at the county level. Also, cross-border trade and commercial activities in the villages have been converted. On the other hand, based on the mentioned developments, the county space organization has a polar nature in the center of the city towards Zabol City, hence incompatible with the network pattern. This structure has somehow caused instability, especially in small villages, and due to regional conditions in the future, these villages are subject to be evacuated.

Role of agriculture water resource management in development of rural regions; a case study Ghani Beiglou County (Zanjan township)

Manijeh Ahmadi

Introduction
The poor management of water demand in Iran has led to increasing demand for this vital source and wasting great amount of this material. Therefore, water resources management has been declared as the most important socio-economic subject, and it is vital to find useful solutions in order to manage this resource sustainably. In this path, despite the location of Ghani Beiglou Rural District near the water-rich-river called Mirjan, the water balance of this area had been violated due to over use and lack of rainfall in the way that some of the villages in this area had no choice unless to get water access rationed. On the other hand, the life of almost 80 percent of villagers depends on agriculture, which is no longer possible due to lack of water. Therefore, shortage in water resources in this territory had caused vital problems such as not using water consumption sufficient policies in the time of crisis, no support of new suitable irrigation methods from the government, decrease in agriproducts efficiency, decrease in employment, investment and income of the agriculture sector. Finally, identifying the factors and solutions in water resource management could be an effective step for improving the water resource management in agricultural sector in this region. Therefore, purpose of present study is to analyze and assess rural sustainable water management in Ghani Beiglou Rural District.

Reseach Methods
This study has applied purpose, and it is descriptive-analytical in nature. Data have been gathered by library and field methods. Statistical population is rural farmer families in Ghani Beiglou villages in Zanjan District. According to 2013 agricultural survey, this district has 2054 farmer households, and the area of cultivated land is 21892 hectares. This rural district has 32 villages in its territory. We found out that among these 32 villages the water resource management projects had been designed for and applied on just five villages including Ebrahim Abad, Mirjan, Mehrabad, Andabad Olia and Andabad Sofla. So these five villages are this study’s sample. This village have 631 farmers according to 2013 agricultural census. Among them we chose 160 individuals for analysis using Cochran sampling formula. Simple accidental sampling was used in each village, and in order to analyze the descriptive-inferential data of questionnaires, we used descriptive-inferential methods.

Discussion and Conclusion
The results of water resource management show that Mehrabad Village with score of 90.44 is in better situation, also in rural sustainable development, and economic aspect compare to four other villages. Andabad Olia Village is in the better condition with numerical average of 123.9, for social aspect Mirjan Village with numerical average of 108.84, for livability dimension Andbad Sofla Village with numerical average of 87.6, and for physical aspect Andabad Sofla Village have better situation compare to others. Moreover, results show that there is a significant relationship between sufficient water resource management and sustainable development of rural areas in significant level of 0.01 and the correlation rate of 0.315. Besides all these, water resource management has impact on rural sustainable development by the level of 0.271. For aspect of the amount of BETA, highest impact is for the index of knowledge and awareness with the amount of 0.522 and the institutional index of 0.036 has the second highest effect on rural development.
The recent droughts and water shortages in the region and its negative impacts on agriculture led to consequences such as decreasing in income, employment rate, investment and increasing in unemployment and job elimination and migration rate to cities. People of some of these villages had acted to sufficiently mange the water resource based on their limited and unreflecting knowledge about modern irrigation methods, on their own and/or in few cases with getting help from the government and Agricultural-Jahad Organization, even though their help is not even close to enough. As a result, Mehrabad Village is a case that is more successful than other villages in developing the sufficient water management with numerical average of 90.44 due to more individual involvement of villagers. Also, this improvement in applying such project had positive impacts on rural sustainable development and agriculture. Marjan Village for aspect of level of rural sustainable development in different economic, social, environmental and Physical dimensions is at a better situation than other villages with numeric average of 0.96. Furthermore, its been found that there is a positive relationship between sufficient water resource management, rural sustainable development and agriculture sector in this region has a vital role in providing required food, producing raw material for industry, employment and creating income. Therefore, in order to reach a more and well managed agriculture development and take steps towards rural sustainable development, this region needs to use water resources sufficiently. Finally results show that each one of the water resource management indexes has different impact on the rural sustainable development, and among them the highest impact is for the index of knowledge and awareness with Beta amount of 0.522.

Changes in wheat production technology and the impact on the rural economy in Fars Province

Ebrahim Moradi

Introduction
The increasing population growth and the need for more agricultural products on the one hand, and on the other hand, the limitations of agricultural development are problems that human beings have always tried to solve. Due to the limited resources and inputs of production, it seems that further production growth is possible through advanced technologies. In fact, technology is something beyond the method of production and its processes; Technology is a mixture of knowledge, skill and technical ability. In fact, technology is something beyond the method of production and its processes; Technology is a mixture of knowledge, skill and technical ability. The use of technology can increase productivity, increase labor productivity, reduce production costs and reduce hassle of labor, hence encouraging villagers to continue agricultural activities. Therefore, the development of technology will play an important role in development strategies and rural economy. Based on the translog cost function, technological changes can be divided into three components: pure technical change, non-neutral, and scale expansion. Recognizing the changes in technology governing wheat farmers for this matter, and its growth rate to help improve and strengthen their status and provide analyzes based on economic principles should be considered.
Among agricultural products, wheat is considered a strategic product and has more than 50% of the total cultivation area of Iranian grain crops. Fars Province is the second province in terms of wheat production in Iran. Despite the high capability of wheat production in Iran, this province has changed its position in production due to instable production. Thus, addressing the issue of technological changes that can affect wheat production is of particular importance.
Also, in Fars Province, zoning plan of production areas was carried out in 2013 with the aim of transferring new knowledge to producers in the agricultural sector in small managerial areas called zones. In addition to the zoning plan in Fars Province (cities), in this research, an attempt has been made to address the changes in wheat farmers' technology and its impact on the rural economy using the geographical weight regression method.

Methodology
The current study is descriptive-analytical and applied in terms of aim. The data collection tool is in the form of documents which according to the information obtained from the experts of Fars Agricultural-Jahad organization during the period 2013-2018. First, the distance between cities was created using a Google Earth software to form a weight matrix; Then, the model was estimated with the translog cost function and by considering the weight matrix and the geographical weight regression method in Stata16 software. The statistical population of the study is wheat farmers in the cities of Fars Province, which is divided into 612 parcels. Now, after several years of implementation of this plan (zoning of Fars province), technology changes by its components (pure technical change, non-neutral change and scale expansion) to produce wheat in Fars Province was examined using weight regression approach Geographical (GWR). Because each implementation of technology change requires special policies, calculating technology changes by its components is vital and necessary.

Discussion and conclusion
The results of estimating the translog cost function by geographical regression model showed that seed, soil and water elasticity at the level of one percent and toxin elasticity at the level of five percent are significant. High coefficient of determination is also a good sign of fitness. Evaluation of the results of calculating technology changes shows that in the study period and with a geographical regression approach, the average progress of wheat technology in the rural economy of the province sums to 0.001. In addition, the average growth rates of pure technical change, non-neutral scale expansion are -0.005, 0.021 and -0.15, respectively. The share of the effect of non-neutral technical change rate in technology changes is greater than the share of pure technical change and scale expansion.
As the results show, the average growth of technology is not significant, which can be attributed to the lack of convergence of the average growth rate of non-neutral technical change and pure technical change and scale expansion. In fact, this level of technological advancement has not been able to have much positive effect on the rural economy in Fars Province. According to the results, it is suggested that for the growth of new technology, investment in mechanization infrastructure such as leveling, drainage, land consolidation and lending to be used to better use equipment and production facilities and benefit from the optimal scale of production because in practice, the performance of new technologies will be negligible if these issues won’t be considered.
In addition, the results show that cities; Marvdasht, Arsanjan, Kazerun, Sarvestan and Kharameh, which are located near the center of the province (Shiraz), have had the greatest impact due to technological changes in the rural economy, because they have more facilities. Abadeh, Neyriz, Mehr, Farashband and Rostam, which are located in the marginal areas of Fars Province, had the lowest average of technological changes in the region's economy, because they had less access to the use of new technologies.
In addition, the results of neutral change lead to cost savings on the production factors. In other words, technological changes have been able to manage the use of inputs to reduce production costs.

Explaining the initial level of “one village, one product strategy” in the development of the local economy Case: Nahrmian Rural District of Shazand County

Maryam Mokhtari

Introduction
By expanding markets and diversifying products from the desired local product, "One Village, One Product" strategy, taking advantage of the region's potential in the competitive market. Utilizing the "One Village, One Product" brand, as a global product, demonstrates pride in local culture as well as an effective economic strategy, which is intended for the development of rural areas. The present study aims to investigate the strategy of "One Village, One Product” in the development of local economy seeks to answer the question that what are the characteristics of the initial level of the strategy in Nahrmian Shazand village? What is the status of the factors affecting the strategy of"One Village, One Product” in the studied rural area?

Methodology
The statistical population of the study includes 5550 villagers and local officials of Nahrmian Rural District in the Zalian District of Shazand County. By multi-stage random sampling with proportional assignment of 160 people as the sample size were examined. 23 experts and officials of Omid Entrepreneurship Fund Organization in the study area were selected by purposeful and available sampling method to assess the importance of each feature of the study strategy. The research tool was a questionnaire whose validity (face and content) was confirmed by Omid Organization experts, rural development experts and faculty members in the field of geography and rural planning Kharazmi University its reliability was based on Cronbach's alpha statistics. Findings were reviewed at two levels of villagers and experts.

Discussion and conclusion
According to the results, the successful implementation of the initial level of "One Village, One Product” community participation, creativity, competitiveness, poverty reduction, reducing the economic gap and selling goods are effective. According to the villagers, the components of creativity, competitiveness and reducing the economic gap are in a better situation. Furthermore, the existence of small industries and workshops with an average of 23%, the use of new methods in production with 22.95%, investment in agriculture and rural industries with 22%, variety of jobs In the village with 21.6% and individual and group business with 20.95% are among the drivers of strategy in the village. Also, the components of selling goods, reducing poverty and community participation are inadequate conditions and processing and packaging of products with an average of 13.53%, cooperation with the government with 14.33%, self-confidence with 15.47%, people's efforts to reduce poverty with 15.71%, product brand with 15.91 %, Integration of land and support funds with 16.14% and rural markets and bazaars with 16.96%, according to the villagers in the implementation of the strategy of a village, a product and economic development of the studied rural area has the lowest importance and priority. Also, using the Mann-Whitney U test and experts' opinion, the study village is only in terms of women's participation, use of new methods in product production, income status of villagers, support funds, government purchases, product sales to nearby markets. The existence of diverse occupations and reverse migration is a relatively favorable situation. According to experts and executive officials of the strategy in the study area, the components of product creativity, product impact in reducing economic gap and competitiveness of the product are more important. Moreover, small rural workshops with an average of 26.65%, creativity with 24%, product quality with 23.8% Income of 23.78%, self-confidence with 22.66%, individual and group business with 22%, small industries and workshops with 21.73% and collective participation of villagers with 21.09% are necessary and important factors to advance the strategy.
Therefore, along with research in the initial stage of the strategy, it is important to pay attention to nurturing people with a creativity. In terms of rural participation, there is a need for change in order to provide a basis for local participation, especially of educated, creative and entrepreneurial youth in order to implement "One Village, One Product”. It is the locals who decide what to choose as their specialty and enhance it with original ideas and creativity. In terms of competitiveness structure, according to quality indicators, investment in rural and agricultural industries, the competitive advantage of the desired product brand should be developed locally and globally. It is suggested that in the strategy of "One Village, One Product” along with the support of regional development and the establishment of local entrepreneurship need to pay attention to economic development and economic justification of the product combined with social participation and local risk-taking, responsibility and accountability of the local people. In this regard, noticing micro-credit funds to facilitate access to rural resources has an important role in empowering villagers.

Identification of factors affecting entrepreneurship in rural areas of Shiraz County

Ayatollah Karami

Introduction
Nowadays, the unemployment crisis has had irreparable effects as a fundamental problem on all the economic, social and cultural aspects of the community. So that the stability and destruction of some governments depends on solving the unemployment crisis. The issue of economic development has always been one of the main concerns of countries. There are two factors that affect development, productivity and entrepreneurship. Today, many social science researchers consider entrepreneurship as an effective strategy to fight poverty and save wealth in low-income societies. Comprehensive development can never be achieved without rural development. Therefore, rural policymakers have focused on developing small businesses, local entrepreneurs and regional business associations. Rural entrepreneurship is one of the most important issues discussed in the field of entrepreneurship in recent years and the most effective solutions for unemployment reduction, poverty reduction, immigration prevention, income diversification, agricultural and non-agricultural production increment, livelihood risk reduction, sustainable food security increment and is the most important source of innovation and job creation. It is also one of the main pillars of growth and development in developing countries, which is as an engine for economic development. Recently, there has been a lot of interest in promoting entrepreneurship as a means of stimulating local economic growth and development y. It is essential to know what makes people successful in becoming entrepreneurs. Policies are also needed in order to increase the entrepreneurial capacity of a community which has the greatest effect on the level of entrepreneurial activity.

Methodology
The purpose of this study was to identification of factors affecting entrepreneurship in rural areas of Shiraz County. The present research is applied in terms of purpose and analytical descriptive in terms of data analysis conducted as a survey in this research. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire. The validity of the questionnaire was evaluated and confirmed through interviews with experts and its reliability through a pre-test (Cronbach's Alpha ranged from 0.688 to 0.959). Data were collected randomly from 177 rural households living in Dasht-e-Arjan District of Shiraz County. Collected data was analyzed by different statistical methods such as Factor Analysis, k-means cluster analysis, diagnostic analysis and stepwise regression analysis.

Discussion and conclusion
The results showed that based on the entrepreneurial situation, entrepreneurs could be divided into three clusters, called cluster 1 "non-entrepreneurs", cluster 2, "medium entrepreneurs" and cluster 3, "high level entrepreneurs". Also, the level of rural entrepreneurship in the study area is high (mean score= 3.42). According to the results, the determinants of the level of entrepreneurship in the study area includes: Responsive age, level of literacy, economic status, knowledge level, social status, environmental status, sense of place, innovation and pragmatism. Based on the results, the level of entrepreneurship in the studied region is high. This result shows the villagers' highly capability of entrepreneurship which itself confirms the need for research on its affecting factor. Therefore, according to the high level of rural entrepreneurship in the region, the need to create a suitable platform for entrepreneurial activities is tangible. Based on the results, the economic factor is the most important factor that determines the level of entrepreneurship in the studied region, which other researchers also emphasize on its importance. Entrepreneurs in the studied region, in particular, residents of the village of Chehel Cheshmeh, have provided their own funds with the use of their own capital and their relatives, as well as the accumulation of rural residents' micro capital and investors in creating employment, and are occupied to such jobs as, raising native chickens, beekeeping, fish breeding, cultivating medicinal plants, processing agricultural products and packaging. The importance of this factor confirms that by creating more favorable economic conditions, it is possible to provide a suitable platform for the development of entrepreneurship in the region. Therefore, it is suggested creating favorable conditions in this field by offering favorable banking facilities in the region, the provision of raw materials and equipment at reasonable prices, lowering input prices, using sufficient machinery and equipment, and choosing brand for the production unit or the product. Another important factor is the level of knowledge. Therefore, the level of knowledge plays an important role in transforming villagers into potential entrepreneurs. By improving knowledge in the region, the background to increase the villagers' level of entrepreneurship is provided and the status of entrepreneurship will be promoted to a higher level. Therefore, increasing the level of knowledge through the provision of information by media such as radio and television, training workshops in order to get familiar with absorbing customers, advertising and marketing techniques, get familiar with efficient banking networks and supportive plans, get familiar with tax laws, imports and exports, pricing and profitability, get familiar with the principles of innovation, technologies and new methods, and introduce the potential and actual opportunities of the environment are essential. Also, based on the results, variables including age and level of literacy have a negative effect on the level of entrepreneurship. In particular, in the village of Chehel Cheshmeh, this effect is obvious and all the inhabitants of the village except old people and educated people are employed and occupied with the entrepreneurial business using the potential of the village. Hence, it seems essential to create the appropriate conditions in order to attract and act of these people in the field of entrepreneurship. In this regard, it is recommended that the planners set applied content of the courses and academic activities, as well as in line with the development of entrepreneurship and acquisition of skills in this field.

Analysis of factors affecting livelihood sustainability in rural areas of Sari County

Zahra Sharifinia

Introduction
A review of studies in developing countries shows that economic programs in developing countries to achieve sustainable livelihoods and economic issues have failed to reduce poverty and a sustainable economy in rural areas. Therefore, today, one of the biggest challenges of planning rural communities and undermining the poverty in developing countries is providing livelihood. A approach that has emerged in the last decade is the sustainable livelihood approach, first proposed by Chambers in the 1980s; and recognized by the World Development and Environment Commission. Among development theories, thus, attention to sustainable livelihood approach, for empowerment and capacity building in rural areas in order to change the pattern of life has become a desirable method, and it is one of the important tools to achieve sustainable development. Therefore, this approach emphasizes comprehensive and integrated framework about poverty reduction and rural development. Therefore, the present study seeks to answer this fundamental question; What are the most important factors affecting the livelihood sustainability of villagers in the study area?

Methodology
This research is descriptive-analytical according to the purpose. In the descriptive part, to analyze the factors affecting the sustainability of villagers' livelihoods, documents and statistical methods have been used. The statistical population of the study is more than 20 household villages in the mentioned rural area of Sari County, which includes 30 villages. The sample size was calculated according to Cochran's formula about 377 and was randomly distributed among the villagers.
The validity of the questionnaire was obtained from face validity method (opinion of professors and experts after several stages of correction and revision). To determine the reliability of the questionnaire, a pre-test (with 30 questionnaires) was performed and Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.698, which indicates the validity of the questionnaire. To analyze the data, descriptive statistical methods such as central tendency indexes (frequency and percentage), and inferential (factor analytical) indicators have been used.

Discussion and conclusion
Poverty is one of the most important challenges for all society, especially rural communities. Thus, various approaches have been proposed to reduce and eradicate poverty. One of these popular ones is the sustainable livelihood approach, which was introduced in the 1980s. Since this is based on the theoretical approach of development and consists of various indicators, achieving sustainable livelihood is not possible without considering all the influential aspects of livelihood. Therefore, in order to recognize the effective indicators in sustainable rural livelihood, the process of policy-making, planning and rural management should consider all indicators holistically and interconnected. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the factors affecting the sustainable livelihoods of villagers in the mentioned rural area of Sari County. The attitudes of local people were surveyed in 30 villages of this district, and factor analysis was used to answer the questions raised in the research. Therefore, KMO value for factors affecting livelihood stability was 0.924 and Bartlett value was 9764.279, which was significant at 99% confidence level. Findings showed that 15 factors were identified and a total of 53.908% of the total variance explained the variables. So that the first factor, i.e. income and job creation with a specific amount (15.35), explained more than 15.50% of the total variance and the fifteenth factor i.e., cultural core with a specific amount of 1.384 and the amount of variance 53.908 is the last factor. In a general, it can be said that all the factors explain 53.908% of the total variance of the variables, and 47.002% of the remaining variance is related to other factors that have not been predicted.
The results of the analysis show that the impact of the index is different from the perspective of local people, which should be considered. The first factor, namely employment and income, which has an important and vital role in the sustainability of rural livelihood, is one of their basic needs, should be given special attention. It measures to optimize agriculture and activities related to local and regional capabilities. Therefore, initiatives can be proposed to strengthen sustainable rural livelihoods in the study area. First, according to the economic needs of people living and active in rural areas via diversification of activities and income generation means, and moreover through this approach create a variety of job opportunities and creating wealth and improving the living standards of the villagers, especially those whose predominant livelihood is agriculture. Second, paying attention to the indicators that were considered the first priority by the local people, as well as to prioritize other indicators used in the research, which were ranked first to fifteenth.

Identifying and designing a complementary sustainable livelihood approach in rural areas of Afghanistan Case: Andar district in Ghazni province

Mehdi Karami Dehkordi

Introduction
The world’s population has been growing rapidly in recent decades, and statistics show that most of the added population belongs to development countries. The majority of this population live in rural areas which has an unfavorable standard of living and livelihood compared to international standard. The basis of human and economic development is based on livelihood; livelihoods include all the things that people do to make a living. In addition, livelihoods are sustainable when they can adapt to pressures and shocks, improve and strengthen or maintain capabilities and assets in the present and future, while not destroying natural resources. Sustainable livelihood is a way to think about rural development, which for rural people it leads to higher incomes, increased welfare, reduced vulnerability, improved food security and more sustainable use of basic natural resources. According to statistics, 71% of Afghanistan’s population lives in rural areas and the livelihood of rural households in this country depends on agriculture, livestock and handicrafts. A large part of the country’s economy depends on rural products, and the products of farmers and ranchers make up most of the country’s export. It is worth noting that in rural areas of Afghanistan, few studies have been conducted on sustainable rural livelihoods, and accordingly the present study is one of the most innovative and leading researchers for this area.

Research Methodology
This is a qualitative study of the grounded theory type with the approach of Strauss and Corbin. The grounded theory method is commonly used to achieve theory, but it also has the ability to use its techniques in the form of other qualitative methods. Methods used to collect data include observation, Interviews, field notes and written and audio recordings made during the interviews. Purposive and snowball sampling were used to collect data. The current research integrated purposive and snowball samplings were used to collect data. Purposive sampling (also known as judgment, selective or subjective sampling) is a sampling technique in which researchers rely on their own judgment when choosing members of population to participate in the study. Snowball sampling method, initial subjects with the desired characteristics are identified using purposeful sampling technique. In this study, data analysis was performed simultaneously with data collection and the researcher reached the theoretical saturation stage with 23 interviews.

Results and discussion
Based on the analysis, 220 codes were extracted from 23 interviews in three stages of open coding, axial coding and selective coding. Code analysis led to the identification of 27 subcategories. Finally, 19 main categories were extracted from their classification. Showed relationships between categories formed in the data that the pattern formed corresponds to the original shape of the paradigm pattern (Pattern or model) of Strauss and Corbin, that is the core category (access to sustainable livelihood) is affected by causal conditions and it influences the strategies themselves. Strategies in turn shape the consequences of the phenomenon under the influence of contextual and interventionist condition.
The causal categories of the paradigm are more dependent on agriculture, war and security challenges and the poor performance of the livestock and poultry sectors. According to the causal categories of the paradigm designed in the studied area, rural industries, rural services, livestock and poultry are very backward compared to the agriculture sector. This does not mean that the agriculture of the northern villages of Andar district is in a good condition. Rather, the monoculture of the rural economy (the majority of vineyards) with low productivity and efficiency in a traditional way has led the villages to an unfavorable living situation. In addition, due to various natural factors the risk of agricultural products is very high and has forced families to multiply their sources of incomes. But unfortunately, the increase in income depends on a particular sector (traditional agriculture). Therefore, in order to meet the economic needs of rural residents through the diversification of activities and income-generating methods, and to provide various job opportunities in this area, further encouragement should be provided.
The war and security challenges in Afghanistan have overshadowed every manufacturing and service sector and prevent any progress and it has caused the villagers to have no connection with the government and rural development department and to live in more deprivation. Rural areas have been severely damaged by war and security challenges, which have weakened the agricultural sector, demolished homes, disabled rural people and lacked investment. The population of the villages has multiplied compared to previous years, but no attention is paid to creating new job opportunities, which has led to rising unemployment, poverty and many livelihood challenges. One of the way to create new job opportunities in the studied villages is the multi-functional approach and abandoning single-function approach.