Feasibility Study of Agricultural Processing Industries Development in Ilam Province, Iran

The purpose of this study was to study the feasibility of establishing agricultural processing industries in Ilam Province.A mixed research method (Dominant, Less Dominant and two-phase design) was used. A Delphi technique as qualitativeresearch method, and a descriptive-survey method for quantitative phase was applied. Based on the results of the Delphi panel, 65 different types of agricultural processing industries were identified to be appropriate for Ilam Province and were used in designing a questionnaire for the quantitative phase of the study. The statistical population of the quantitative phase comprised all agricultural experts working in the Jihad- Agriculture Organization of Ilam Province (N=85). From among them, and by using the Morgan Table, 70 individuals were selected through stratified random sampling and were studied by the questionnaire. In the quantitative phase, based on the variation ratio (VR), the respondents prioritized the agricultural processing industries for all counties of Ilam Province. Results of Kendall’s W test showed that there was agreement among the respondents about the feasibility of establishing agricultural processing industries in this Province.