بررسي آثار اقتصادي - اجتماعي كشت پسته در استان قم

Socio-economic Implications of Pistachio Planting in Qom Province of Iran

Pistachio plantation has developed thanks to suitable water sources, soil, and climate of large regions in the Qom province as well as to the high-yielding pistachio farms aging over 30 years in the area. This province has also been recognized as one of the potential provinces in terms of the pistachio plantation and development by the experts of National Institute of Pistachio Research. Currently, over 4000 ha of (fertile and non-fertile) pistachio farms exist in the province. This study aimed at undergoing the analysis of socio-economic implications, determination of return, and farm budgeting. The required data were made through questionnaires in a survey method. Economic assessment criteria including benefit-cost ratio, net present value, and internal rate of return were used to analyze the pistachio-planting programme in terms of economy. Non-parametric tests, particularly spearman correlation coefficient and relative and cumulative frequencies, and descriptive statistics, were carried out to make a data analysis. According to the results, pistachio-planting programme in Qom Province is economically and technically justified. Some of the most significant relations between the study variables might be mentioned as: positive relations of the respondentsʹ history of pistachio cultivation and farm size with their pistachio-cultivated lands, farmersʹ educational levels with their non-farm activities, and the capital-providing resources with the type of agricultural machinery acquisition.