Introduction
Today the importance of human capital is such that the socio-economic capabilities of countries are measured based on creative and efficient human resources. Therefore, investing human resources with the purpose of integrated growth and development is a profitable business with high rate of return. One of the goals of implementing educational-extension courses is to increase the economic profitability of crop cultivation, because the final result of all plans and activities of any enterprise or business is reflected in its economic profitability. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the economic profitability of educational-extension courses and the factors affecting the participation of bread and durum wheat producers in these courses in Ilam province.
Materials and Methods
This research is applied research in terms of purpose and has been conducted through survey method. The statistical population of this study was all bread wheat (N=4175) and durum wheat (N=1255) farmers of Ilam in 2018. Based on Krejcie & Morgan (1980) sampling table, the sample sizes selected from bread and durum wheat farmers in this study were 351 and 293 respondents, respectively. Of the collected questionnaires, 317 and 261 questionnaires were analyzable, respectively. In this study, the bread and durum wheat farmers were classified into two groups; with and without training courses. Data were collected using a questionnaire. For descriptive data analysis, mean was used and for inferential analysis, mean comparison test, logit regression and economic profitability analysis were used. In profitability analysis, production cost, net income, production profit, and percentage of sales return were used.
Results and Discussion
The results of this study showed that the average of production cost of bread wheat cultivation in the group of farmers who participated in the educational courses was 1 percent more and the net income of this group was about 5 percent less than the group of farmers without training. In addition, the average profit of bread wheat production in the group of respondents with training was also 5 percent less than the other group. However, the average of production cost of durum wheat in the group of farmers who received the education was 2.2 percent less and the net income from this product in this group of farmers was 7.8 percent more than the group of farmers who had not received the educational courses. The average profit of durum wheat production was 8.7 percent more in the group of respondents with training. However, these differences were not statistically significant and this indicates that in general, educational-extension courses have not succeeded in creating a significant difference in the field of yield and also in increasing the profitability of bread and durum wheat cultivation. Variables including age, education level, years of wheat cultivation, crop yield, average of land ownership, and area under cultivation had a positive effect on wheat farmers' participation in educational-extension courses. These explanatory variables have been able to explain 31.4% of the changes in the dependent variable of attending in educational-extension courses in wheat production.
Conclusions
Although more related studies are needed to identify the reasons for the lack of effectiveness of educational courses in bread and durum wheat in the studied region, it can be concluded that compiling the content of educational-extension courses have not benefited from the results of the new research achievements. In addition, in holding educational courses, the educational needs of the farmers are usually not taken into account and the necessary needs assessment is not done in this field. Therefore, conducting a needs assessment of the target audience before compiling the content of the educational-extension courses is necessary and recommended. In addition, it is necessary to take measures to increase communication and synergy between Extension Coordination Offices in agricultural organizations with Agriculture and Natural Resources Research and Training Centers in order to be aware of the latest research achievements and to take advantage of the experiences of the researchers. |
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