Abstract
Agriculture and its development is the foundation of development
in Iran as a developing country. So, it can be
regarded as the foundation for economical and social development.
The capabilities of agriculture sector are limited and
its efficiency is trivial because of neglecting agricultural development
and keeping its support just as a slogan. The transformation
of agriculture to a developed, dynamic, efficient
environment depends not only on appropriate climate and
natural resources but also on human resource development in
the relevant sector. The main purpose of the present research
was to study and recognize agricultural development indicators
from agriculture experts’ viewpoints (including researchers,
trainers and extension experts) in six provinces in Iran on the
basis of Adjacent Provinces Plan. The study was designed
with three phases of theoretical foundations, field operations
and data analysis. The statistical population was 863 experts,
out of which 198 experts were selected by stratified sampling.
The validity and reliability of measurement tool (questionnaire)
was analyzed by SPSS software package. The study was a
correlation-descriptive study in which factor analysis statistics
was used in addition to descriptive statistics. Experts grouped
indicators of future agricultural development in nine groups
(access to inputs, application of technologies for the development
of human resource and sustainability; reduction of losses;
economical development; improvement of infrastructures;
agricultural mechanization; social status; improvement of
marketing; land reform; yield increase). Results about the difference
in respondents’ viewpoints revealed significant differences
in experts’ viewpoints in six studied province about
relevant variables and in their viewpoints about the components
of agricultural development (infrastructure improvement, marketing,
optimum management and sustainability, human
resource development and economical development).