Spatial Analysis of Non-Resident Agriculture Holders in Rural Areas of Iran

Purpose: The present study aims at describing the general status of non-resident agriculture holders in rural areas. Moreover, it tries to not only investigate the hotspots of non-resident agriculture holders but also analyze its spatial pattern across the county of Iran. Besides, the current study will analyze the most effective factors on forming each hotspot across the Country. Methods: The study is a kind of descriptive-analytic one. The data are adopted from agriculture census of Iran Statistic Center in 2003 and 2014. They have been analyzed by spatial statistic techniques in GIS environment. Results: The findings reveal that the spatial distribution of non-resident agriculture holders is heterogeneous across the Country. The findings from spatial statistics indicate the existence of two main hotspots of non-resident agriculture holders across the towns; the first hotspot has been formed in central Iran and the northern regions of the Country, while the other one has been formed in the west. Conclusion: The increase of non-resident agriculture holders in rural area which has been formed in the frame of rural-urban linkages, leads to increase smallholdings, decrease agriculture productivity, and weaken the balance between rural population and agriculture capacities for production and employment. Therefore, it acts like a barrier in the process of Sustainable rural development.