Journal of Entrepreneurial Strategies in Agriculture

Extended Abstract
Introduction and Objective: Livestock activity in Mazandaran province has a significant share in employment and production of related products in the country. To achieve economic development, identifying the challenges and potentials for progress in this sector are important factors. The purpose of this study is to analyze the resources, activities and institutions of Mazandaran province with an economic approach to strengthen production and employment and find a suitable strategy to increase the employment and production of livestock in Mazandaran province.
Material and Methods: in this study, by considering the production capabilities of livestock products in Mazandaran province, and using a SWOT analysis based on the AHP approach, the problems, and opportunities in the livestock sub-sector in Mazandaran province were identified and examined. To extract pairwise comparisons of internal and external factors, 15 experienced experts in the livestock subdivision of the Agricultural Jihad Organization and Departments of Mazandaran Province were interviewed in 2018. Finally, using the Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM) approach, strategies for developing this subsector were prioritized. Excel and GAMS software were used to estimate the results.
Results: The results of SWOT analysis in the analysis of internal and external factors showed that to develop the livestock sub-sector in Mazandaran province, aggressive strategies can be useful. Also, the results of prioritizing strategies through the QSPM approach showed that according to the aggressive strategies in the livestock sub-sector, "export development and entry into global markets", "product and market development", " Creating facilities for the export of Caspian Sea littoral states " and " Modified breeds of livestock to increase production " with scores of 6.467, 6.147, 5.442 and 4.947, respectively, can be considered as strategies for developing production and employment in the livestock sub-sector of Mazandaran province .
Conclusion: According to the results of internal and external factors in SWOT analysis, the optimal strategy in livestock activity in Mazandaran province is the aggressive strategy of SO.  According to the results of this study, strategies such as development and promotion of traditional livestock to semi-industrial and industrial, reducing mediation and intermediation and regulating market by collecting accurate statistics and information sources, Modifying breeds of livestock, supporting exports especially exports to Caspian Sea littoral states, improving the quality and standard of processed products for sale in regional and trans-regional markets, recognizing the needs of target markets and Such cases are suggested.

Extended Abstract
Background: Forests are considered the main pillars of sustainable development in any country. They play an important role in the socioeconomic development of regions by producing goods and delivering services directly and indirectly. They play a vital role in ensuring the well-being of rural and forest-dwelling communities and rural development. In recent decades, non-timber forest products have been recognized as one of the important components in sustainable forest management and poverty reduction of local and rural communities. Therefore, the need for a deeper understanding of rural livelihood and its complexity to ensure rural development is one of the factors that increases the motivation to study the role and importance of forest resource products in the rural economy. In today's era, therefore, entrepreneurship has created new opportunities for people who are talented and interested in non-wood forest products to improve their income, increase their assets and capital, and grow the standards of living in rural communities in the new economy in small and medium businesses. The development of entrepreneurship in rural areas is one of the major strategies of rural development, which can play a significant role in the sustainable development of villages. The development of rural entrepreneurship with non-wood forest products has a potential to help diversify the sources of income and rural employment, which provides suitable opportunities to reduce livelihood risks and sustainability in rural areas. Therefore, studies on the role of forest ecosystem services and the accompanied development of rural entrepreneurship in the economy of rural communities on the edge of the forest are necessary to better understand the benefits of the forest economy.
Methods: This research aimed to identify and prioritize the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the Hyrcanian forests in the economic promotion of rural communities on the edge of the forest and to provide practical solutions in this field by using survey methods, field studies, and completing questionnaires. The statistical population of the research consisted of specialists and experts of Hyrcanian forests in the Natural Resources and Watershed Management Organization at the provincial and regional levels of the Hyrcanian forests. The questionnaire data were analyzed using SWARA and SWOT techniques. The Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM) was then used to prioritize strategies and solutions for the economic promotion of rural communities on the edge of the forest.
Results: The results of the SWOT model identified 11 strengths, 10 weaknesses, 10 opportunities, and 11 threats for the economic improvement of the rural communities on the edge of the Hyrcanian forests. Based on the results, the major strengths and weaknesses of the Hyrcanian forests in the economic promotion of rural communities on the edge of the forest were studied according to the weight score obtained in the evaluation matrix of internal factors. These include increasing the diversity of job opportunities and excessive exploitation and destruction of forest resources due to the high dependence of rural communities on the forest ecosystem. Among the opportunities, the positive consequences of creating employment for rural communities with the development of activities related to the forest and increasing the price of assets (land, buildings, etc.) due to having a forest view were given the most weight among the other factors. A major threat to the role of the Hyrcanian forests in the economic promotion of rural communities on the edge of the forest is the consequences of destruction, changes in the use of forest lands, and the entry of profit-seeking people into forest areas (illegal harvesting of forest timber or smuggling wood, mushrooms, medicinal plants., etc.), which were given the utmost weight among the other threats.
Conclusion: According to the scores calculated in the strategic model, the strategies adopted in the study area are close to "competitive" strategies. Therefore, the relevant authorities should try to take steps toward these strategies and make maximum use of its external opportunities by using the strengths of the Hyrcanian forests in the economic promotion of the rural communities on the edge of the forest. The results of the implementation of the QSPM matrix indicated that the strategies of supporting timber and beekeeping projects through subsidy policies, providing facilities and low-interest loans, efforts to reduce deprivations and increase the socioeconomic development of villages on the edge of the forest, introducing the tourist attractions of the Hyrcanian forests, developing nature tourism, rural ecotourism in different ways, promoting the environmental awareness and culture of communities, and the development of NGOs and nature-loving institutions obtained the most points and were assigned the first to fourth priorities among the other strategies. Therefore, the research findings show that entrepreneurship through non-timber forest products and tourism creates new opportunities for talented and interested people to improve their income, increase their assets and capital, and improve the standards of living in rural communities to grow small and medium businesses in the new economy. Therefore, the results of the research indicate that entrepreneurship through non-timber forest products and tourism creates new opportunities for talented and interested people to improve their income, increase their property and capital, and grow the standards of living in rural communities in the new economy in small and medium businesses. Furthermore, rural entrepreneurship and the development of small businesses using non-timber forest products, tourist attractions, nature tourism, and ecotourism in the villages on the edge of the Hyrcanian forests should be regarded as suitable solutions for empowerment and capacity building in the target villages to change the current life pattern, reduce the urban-rural gap, create socioeconomic equality, and economic development and promotion of rural communities on the edge of the forests.

ies, focusing on the success of these new products and the profitability of insurance companies.
Methods: The Choice Experiment method is based on two basic parts, including Lancaster's value theory and Random utility function theory. According to Lancaster, a person benefits from the attributes and characteristics of a product compared to the state where he directly uses the product. Therefore, a change in price leads to a change in the Choice of a set of goods over other goods, which creates a higher cost. The theory of random utility function is the second structural part of the selection test method. Based on this theory, all the components of the utility function that result from people's choices are not directly visible to the researcher. In this research, five attributes, moral hazard, franchise, insurance premium estimate, ability to update insurance premium, and price as the main variables in two levels were considered for investigation. In such a way that the audience has two levels for each of the attributes (has the moral hazard /does not have the moral hazard, has the franchise /does not have the franchise, has the insurance premium estimate /does not have the insurance premium estimates, can update insurance premium /cannot update insurance premium, and the price attribute is up to 3000000 Tomans/up to 3750000 Tomans). To collect the necessary data and information, in February 2024, questionnaires were sent to all active private insurance companies in Mazandaran province, which had experienced experts with more than 3 years of relevant work experience, of which 45 questionnaires were completed. The Choice Experiment was valid. The conditional logit method was used to estimate the model. Hence, to ensure the correct use of the conditional logit method to estimate the model, first, using the Hausman-McFadden test, the hypothesis of independence of irrelevant alternatives (IIA) was examined. For this purpose, first, the model was estimated in an unrestricted form with the presence of all options; Then, by removing one of the options, the model was estimated in a restricted form and according to the x2 (chi-square) statistic, a decision was made about the desired model. If the null hypothesis that there is no difference between the coefficients (in other words, the hypothesis of independence of irrelevant alternatives) is not rejected, the conditional logit method can be used to estimate the model.
Results: Based on the obtained results, the value of the chi-square statistic was equal to -1.62, which indicates the confirmation of the null hypothesis and establishing the independence of irrelevant alternatives; Accordingly, conditional logit regression is the most suitable model for investigating the effective attributes of price insurance in its acceptance by insurance companies. According to the results, the sign of the coefficients of the franchise, insurance premium, and price variables is positive and by the theory; Also, the variables of moral hazard and the ability to update have an inverse relationship with the utility of price insurance by insurance companies. The coefficient of the final effect of the moral hazard variable is equal to -0.072, which means that with other variables being constant if the characteristic of a unit's moral hazard increases, the marginal utility or willingness to pay insurers will decrease by 0.072 units. The value of the final effect of the insurance premium variable is 0.098, which states that if the premium attribute increases one unit, in a situation where other attributes are constant, the willingness to pay or the marginal utility of the insurers increases by 0.098 units.
Conclusion: Accordingly, the sign of the coefficients of the franchise, insurance premium calculation, and price variables is positive and according to the theory. Also, variables of moral hazard and the ability to update insurance premiums have an inverse relationship with the utility of price insurance by insurers. The effect of the attributes of price insurance is the highest in the form of franchise, insurance premium calculation, moral hazard, and the ability to update insurance premiums. Also, considering that 70% of insurance companies' experts welcome price insurance, including it in the insurance portfolio offered by insurance companies can improve the profitability of insurance companies and on the other hand, improve the business environment related to agriculture if the insurance premium is determined and strengthen food security. By developing price insurance, the policymaker can compensate to a large extent the current damage caused by insurance of agricultural products.