Integrated Rural Development Planning Based on Smart Agriculture and Circular Management of Agricultural Resources (Case Study: Rural Areas in Khorramabad Township)

Bazvand, Sajjad; Bakhtiari, Ayatollah; Pirooz, Reza

Integrated Rural Development Planning Based on Smart Agriculture and Circular Management of Agricultural Resources (Case Study: Rural Areas in Khorramabad Township)

Document Type : Origional Article

Authors

Sajjad Bazvand ¹ ^¶

Ayatollah Bakhtiari ²

Reza Pirooz ³

¹ Research Assistant Professor, Social Economic Research Department, Lorestan Natural Resources Agricultural Educational Research Center, Khorramabad Agricultural Education and Extension Research Organization, Iran.

² Educational Trainer, Economic, Social Research and Agricultural Extension Department, Imam Khomeini Higher Education Center (RA), Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization, Karaj, Iran.

³ MSc in Plant Breeding, Lorestan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization, Khorramabad, Iran.

Abstract

Background and Objective: The economic, institutional, and environmental challenges facing rural areas in Iran have highlighted the necessity of shifting from sectoral approaches toward integrated rural development planning. The present study aimed to evaluate the status of water and soil resource management, smart agriculture, and the circular management of resources and agricultural waste within the framework of the circular economy, and to analyze their role in integrated rural development planning as well as in enhancing the economic and environmental resilience of rural settlements in Khorramabad Township.
Methodology: In terms of purpose, this study is applied, and in terms of methodology, it follows a descriptive–analytical approach. The statistical population consisted of 15,870 agricultural beneficiaries and stakeholders, from among whom a sample of 375 individuals was selected using proportionate stratified random sampling. Data were analyzed using the one-sample t-test, Friedman test, linear regression, and the bootstrap method.
Results and Findings: The results of the one-sample t-test showed that the mean scores for water and soil resource management and the circular management of resources and agricultural waste were 2.910 and 2.680, respectively, both falling below the desirable level; whereas the mean score for smart agriculture was 3.090, indicating a relatively desirable status. The results of the Friedman test indicated that weak institutional coordination, with a mean rank of 4.923, was identified as the most important barrier, while government support and policies, with a mean rank of 4.812, were recognized as the most important driver. The bootstrap analysis revealed that smart agriculture has a positive and significant effect on integrated rural development planning, and that the circular management of resources and agricultural waste plays a partial mediating role in this relationship. Moreover, the results of simple linear regression indicated that integrated rural development planning, with a beta coefficient of 0.447, plays a decisive role in enhancing the economic and environmental resilience of rural settlements.

Keywords

Integrated Rural Development Planning

Economic and Environmental Rural Resilience

Smart Agriculture

Circular Management of Agricultural Resources and Waste

Khorramabad Township.

Subjects

Rural Planning

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