Dr Karim Naderi Mahdei, Dr Fatemeh Sepahvand, Mr Seyyed Yahya Mir Hashemi, Volume 13, Issue 2 (summer 2024)
Abstract
The cultivation of agricultural products under natural conditions is among the most hazardous economic pursuits. Consequently, insuring agricultural products can serve as a highly effective government support tool for mitigating and addressing these risks. This study aims to examine the factors influencing the acceptance of agricultural insurance by wheat farmers in Razan city during the 2022-2023 period. Data for this research were gathered through a specially designed questionnaire. To validate the questionnaire, the content validity method was employed, whereby it was reviewed by a group of experts in agricultural Jihad and professors from the Agricultural Extension and Education Department at Bu Ali Sina University. The reliability of the questionnaire was assessed using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. The study focused on a population of 996 wheat farmers who had accepted insurance, from which 278 were selected through simple random sampling based on the Karjesi and Morgan table. Findings indicated a positive and significant correlation between the dependent variable, "intention to accept insurance," and all independent variables examined (α ≤0.01) in the Sardroud area of Razan County. The strongest positive relationships were found between "social capital" and "government information support" with the "intention to accept insurance" (r = 0.61 and r = 0.46, respectively). Additionally, the correlation of "wheat farmers’ interaction with communication channels" (r = 0.40) and "farmers’ insurance knowledge" (r = 0.43) with the "intention to accept insurance" was also positive and significant. The results further indicated that "social capital" and "interaction with communication channels" significantly contributed to explaining the "intention to accept insurance" (β = 0.46 and β = 0.14, respectively). Overall, the independent variables (area under wheat cultivation, insurance knowledge, government information support, social capital, and communication channels) accounted for 44.8% of the variance in the intention to accept insurance.
