Analysis of the Utility of Economic Sectors in Achieving Agricultural Development: Applying an Analytic Hierarchy Process

ABSTRACT- According to article 44 of the I.R. of Iran Constitution, the Iranian economy consists of three sectors; the state, the cooperative, and the private sectors. The aim of this study was to present a hierarchy of criteria for selecting the best economic sector for agricultural development. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to calculate the relative importance of either criteria or their alternatives (economic sectors) with regard to the aggregate opinions of experts. Using a structured questionnaire, data were obtained from experts in economic sciences, social sciences, agricultural extension and rural development (n=25) and analyzed using Expert Choice software. Results indicated that entrepreneurship, employment and social justice were the most important criteria to consider when selecting the best economic sector. Moreover, the study demonstrated that based on the criteria, the cooperative sector was the best and the optimum choice. Nevertheless, the gap between cooperative and private sectors was small.