Factors Influencing Rural Women Participation in Agricultural Extension Programs, Case Study Mazandaran, Iran

The general purpose of this article is to identify the influencing factors on rural women participation inagricultural extension programs in Mazandaran Province. Therefore, using multi-stage sampling, 300 ruralwomen were selected randomly. The research instrument was a semi-structured questionnaire. Results showthat rural women participation in agricultural extension programs is at average level. Rural women havemore interaction with agricultural extension workers and female facilitators. Moreover, significantassociations were found between some of the individual and professional characteristics of rural women andtheir participation in agricultural extension programs. Moreover, results from multiple regression shows thatabout 32 percent of changes in rural women participation in extension programs are identified by theirexperience in rice farming and their education level.