Perceived outcomes of Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) technologies adoption in citrus farms of Iran (reflection of environment-friendly technologies)

摘要

The main purpose of this study was to analyze the perceived outcomes of Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) technologies adoption in order to sustain citrus farms in Mazandaran province, Iran. Study population consisted of all citrus growers in the villages of 12 counties of Mazandaran province, which a sample of 290 orchardmen were selected through a proportional random sampling technique. A questionnaire was designed to collect data which was both valid and reliable according to expert opinion and Cronbach's alpha coefficient respectively. The results of the factor analysis showed that market access and safe product exports, consumer' health and environment-friendly behavior, safe production and public demand, and information sharing and strengthening local associations were the four perceived outcomes of GAPs technologies adoption in citrus farms of Iran. These factors explained 65.02% of the total variance. These four perceived outputs of GAPs support economic, environmental, and social sustainability dimensions respectively.