Factors Affecting Commercialization of Agricultural Mechanization in Khuzestan Province

Abstract

The main research paradigm of the present work is quantitative in which a descriptive survey methodology was used. The study investigates some of the economic factors that influence the success of mechanization organizations in Khuzestan province, Iran. Khuzestan province is one of the leading agricultural hubs of Iran, so it was selected as the study site. The statistical population was composed of 18 active mechanization service organizations which covered 19,844 hectares of wheat plants in 726 wheat farms at 89 villages and counties of the province in the previous year. The main research instrument was a questionnaire whose content validity was confirmed by a panel of experts and its reliability was calculated to be 0.89 by the coefficient of Cronbach''s alpha. The results of the correlation of the research variables with the economic performance variables of the organizations showed that the variables of diversity of organizational performance of the organization, number of available facilities and machinery, non-government support for the organization, the number of training courses, and the amount of government cash support (loan and bank credit) were significantly correlated with the variable of annual economic performance. Also, 45.1% of the annual economic performance of the mechanization organization is explaining with “the annual performance of mechanization organization”, “non-government support for the organization”, “the availability of facilities and machinery”, and “the CEO''s understanding of the concept of organization services, chief executive officer (CEO)’s perception of the concept of organization, annual