Journal of Geographical Studies of Mountainous Areas

Journal of Geographical Studies of Mountainous Areas

Explaining the factors affecting gardeners' willingness to sell their produce to processing and complementary industries: A case study of Kohdasht County

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Moslem Savari
Amaneh Savari Mombeni
Hames Izadi
Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, Faculty of Agriculture Engineering and Rural Development, Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University of Khuzestan, Mollasani, Iran.
10.22034/gsma.2026.2047018.1044
Abstract
1. Introduction
While Lorestan is considered one of the country's horticultural hubs, the share of this part of the province in exports is very low. This shows that Lorestan province, despite having very high capacities in the field of horticulture and the high quality of horticultural products, has not yet achieved what is desired in the field of horticulture and gardening. The existence of many unused capacities in the horticultural sector is an issue that, despite the measures and programs presented, no effective practical action has yet been implemented to use these capabilities. Paying attention to these capacities can pave the way for meeting the country's and the province's needs for many basic goods, creating more added value, and boosting exports. Realizing this requires the formation of some infrastructure in the production and processing of horticultural products and a fundamental transformation in the food industry. Creating transformation and complementary industries in the horticultural and agricultural sectors is one of the main axes for the prosperity of this sector. But in recent years, little attention has been paid to launching semi-finished projects or creating new units next to production centers. The development of these industries, in addition to increasing the price of more durable products and production, will create employment and economic prosperity. Meanwhile, the development of rural areas by establishing small and large industrial factories and workshops is a consequence of the increased attention of relevant authorities to this issue. At the same time, the development of processing and complementary industries in each region will lead to specialized and principled planning by agricultural specialists, and instead of producing abundant products above market needs in a short period of time, which will lead to a decrease in prices, an increase in waste and product losses, there will be an optimal use of agricultural and horticultural products, and in the long term, the livelihoods of the operators will be positively affected by this aspect of development. Therefore, the main purpose of this research is to investigate what factors affect the willingness of gardeners to sell their products to these industries directly if these industries are created and completed. But the most important solution to examine farmers' willingness in this field is to use psychological theories, which is why the health beliefs model was used in this study.
 
2. Methodology
The information required for the study was collected by survey method and using a researcher-made questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed by SPSS and Amos software and with a structural equation modeling approach. The statistical population of this study consisted of gardeners in the central part of Kohdasht County, Lorestan Province (N=1000), and a sample size of 270 gardeners was selected based on the Krejci and Morgan table. The sample individuals were studied using a stratified sampling method with proportional assignment.
3. Results
The results obtained from the structural equation modeling of path analysis showed that the constructs of perceived intensity, perceived vulnerability, and perceived benefits have a positive, direct, and significant effect on the behavioral tendency of gardeners to sell their products directly to the transformation and complementary industries, and finally, the health belief theory can predict 83 percent of the changes in the behavioral tendency of gardeners. In this regard, it is recommended to highlight the harms caused by the current behavior of gardeners in the field of harvesting, transporting, and selling products among gardeners, as well as the benefits of selling products to these industries, including increased income, reduced waste, increased employment, etc., to significantly pave the way for gardeners to sell their products to the transformation and complementary industries.
 
4. Discussion
The results of the study showed that perceived vulnerability, perceived severity, and perceived benefits are good predictors of the behavioral tendency of gardeners to sell their products directly to processing and finishing industries. Vulnerability means a person's feeling towards negative and destructive possibilities that may befall the person in the future if they do not change their current behavior. In fact, if gardeners examine and analyze the damages caused by their current behavior in the field of harvesting, transporting, and selling products, they will reach a series of challenges and damages, and their fear or resistance to facing these damages will lead to a change in behavior, which in this case is the delivery of produced products directly to processing and finishing industries and workshops. Basically, the health belief model assumes that people always try to behave in a way that reduces their risks, however, they first need to become sensitive to this issue and reach the understanding that they are at risk (Kien, 2015). Specifically, highlighting this issue among gardeners can significantly pave the way for gardeners to be motivated to sell their products to processing and complementary industries.
5. Conclusion
Today, poverty and unemployment reduction and job creation are the main issues of the country and are very important issues in the development of provinces and villages. The emergence of new opportunities for local and regional development is an important tool for industrial development. One of the issues that can be considered in the provinces with agricultural potential, especially horticulture, in the country is the establishment and development of transformation and complementary industries in this sector. Transformation and complementary industries, while playing a significant role in reducing agricultural product waste, will lead to the development of rural entrepreneurship and sustainable employment in the rural environment. In this study, an attempt was made to develop and propose, based on a strong and established socio-psychological model, namely the health belief model, a suitable framework for understanding and recognizing the factors influencing the behavioral tendency of gardeners towards selling their products directly to processing and complementary industries.
 
Author Contributions
In the preparation and writing of this article, all authors (first, second, and third) have contributed equally and jointly. All stages of the research, from study design and data collection to analysis of results and final writing of the article, are the result of collaboration and collective agreement of all authors.
 
Data Availability Statement
Data available on request from the authors.
 
Acknowledgements
The current paper is adapted from a research assigned in Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University of Khuzestan, with a Grant Number of 1403.18, and financially supported by the university, thereby we declare our appreciation for their help.
 
Ethical Considerations
All authors affirm that this research was conducted in accordance with ethical standards, with no data fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism.
 
Funding
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
 
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest
Keywords
transformation and complementary industries
agricultural sector
rural development
elimination of intermediaries
Kohdasht county
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Journal of Geographical Studies of Mountainous Areas
Volume 6, Issue 4 - Serial Number 24
Winter
Winter 2026
Pages 1-20