ABSTRACT Organic agriculture has received attention in Iran because of the environmental problems that have resulted from the overuse of chemicals in agriculture, but despite the many benefits, the adoption rate of organic farming is still low. This study used an expert consensus Delphi technique in three rounds to identify drivers and barriers for organic rice production in the Guilan Province, Iran. The Kendall’s coefficient of concordance was used for assessing experts’ consensus. Informing about the benefits of organic rice consumption and obtaining an ID card for eco-labelling of organic rice by governmental regulatory bodies were the most important drivers for organic rice farming. On the other hand, the high cost of inspection and supervision of organic farms by the Iranian Organic Association and the lack of attention to the role of branding in the promotion of organic rice consumption were the main barriers for organic rice farming. In addition, farmers’ risk aversion due to reliance on rice as the only source of annual income and thus farmers’ economic dependence on rice was another important barrier. The findings of this study highlighted the vital role of the government and the agricultural extension agencies in promoting organic rice production in Iran. It is recommended that the government should consider providing direct incentives to organic rice farmers and extension services should support organic farmers to maintain or enhance grain yields.

中文翻译：

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伊朗北部有机大米 (Oryza sativa L.) 生产的驱动因素和障碍：专家使用德尔菲法达成的共识

摘要 有机农业在伊朗受到关注，因为农业中过度使用化学品导致环境问题，但尽管有很多好处，但有机农业的采用率仍然很低。本研究在三轮中使用了专家共识德尔菲技术，以确定伊朗桂兰省有机水稻生产的驱动因素和障碍。Kendall 的一致性系数用于评估专家的共识。向政府监管机构宣传有机大米消费的好处和获得有机大米生态标签的身份证是有机大米种植的最重要驱动力。另一方面，伊朗有机协会对有机农场的高昂检查和监督成本以及对品牌在促进有机大米消费方面的作用缺乏重视是有机大米种植的主要障碍。此外，农民因依赖稻米作为年收入的唯一来源而规避风险，因此农民对稻米的经济依赖是另一个重要障碍。这项研究的结果突出了政府和农业推广机构在促进伊朗有机水稻生产方面的重要作用。建议政府考虑向有机稻农提供直接奖励，推广服务应支持有机农保持或提高粮食产量。