Analysis of the Role of Horticulture in the Sustainable Development of Rural Economy (Case study: Rural District of Fasarood - City of Darab)

Economic development in rural areas is one of the main goals of the rural planning. In this context, it is essential to understand the actual and potential capabilities and capacities of each region. Horticultural activities as one of the most important subsectors of the agriculture, has played an important role in creating employment, making income, and development of the rural economy of rural district of Fasarood, Darab City ; as well, the subsistence of most of villagers in this area depends on it. This study has been aimed to analyze the place of horticulture in rural economy in rural district of Fasarood, Darab City. This research is descriptive - analytical and documentary; and its data is collected using the techniques of scanning of the sample villages by designing two separate questionnaires from the whole statistical population (6781), 164 questionnaires from the heads of households, and 97 questionnaires from gardeners.They, then, have been analyzed by the Friedman's test, the model of factor analysis and the model of SWOT. The results related to the Factor analysis states that the first and second components are describing 52 and 18 percent of variance, respectively, which are called economic and environmental factor, respectively. Hence, the effects of the Horticulture in the economy of the region have two main principals that explain about 70 percent of the whole variations. Also, we investigate, by using the SWOT model, about the most important problems which prevent horticulture activities from development, present suitable strategies for addressing these issues and thus, the development of economic activities in accordance with the conditions prevailing in the gardening of the area.

Rural Economics, Horticulture,factor analysis, Darab City