Factors Affecting Attitude of Iranian Pistachio Farmers toward Privatizing Extension Activities: Case of Kerman Province

Agricultural extension, as an informal educational system, is one of agricultural development tools that lean on human capitals. Inefficiency of public bureaucracy on the one hand, and managerial problems on the other hand, as well as neglecting real needs of beneficiaries in planning, have determined responsible to transfer administrative tasks to the private sector and reduce government''s tenure. This survey was conducted in Kerman as the first ranked province of pistachio production in Iran to investigate attitudes about extension private services among pistachio farmers. A questionnaire was used as the research tool for data collection. Face validity of the questionnaire was verified by extension experts and Cronbach''s alpha computation showed that reliability of the questionnaire was between 0.8 and 0.89. The study ran among pistachio farmers of five counties (Rafsanjan, Sirjan, Zarand, Kerman and Ravar). Random cluster sampling method, with a sample size of 382 respondents was applied. Finally, the collected data were analyzed using SPSS software. Results revealed that several factors such as education level, participating in extension activities, innovation acceptance, membership in associations, cosmopolitan, positive attitude toward knowledge and information, applying numerous information resources, pistachio yield per hectare, area of the pistachio garden and satisfaction of the private consultants had relation with attitude toward privatization of extension. Also, the level of participation in extension activities and attitude toward the public extension could explain 24.8 percent of changes in attitude toward private extension.