Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis for farming system businesses management: Case of wheat farmers of Shadervan District, Shoushtar Township, Iran

Abstract

Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis indicates a framework for helping the researchers or planners to identify and priorities the business's goals, and to further identifies the strategies of achieving them. SWOT analysis is a technique to analyze the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threats of business. In all countries, farming practices have vital role to food security. Population growth is the major reason for increased food demands and it puts additional pressure on the natural resource. Countries with rapid population growth face especially difficult challenges in ensuring food security. Therefore, using SWOT analysis identify strategies for agricultural development especially in farming systems and helping the researchers or planners to management and priorities them for achieving food security. The location of research was rural areas of Shadervan district of Shouahtar Township, Iran. The population of study was wheat farmers (N=1950). The sample size (n=165) selected by random sampling. Based on the results of SWOT, strategies for farming system management were prioritized. It include: development of poor local market opportunities and infrastructure, planting of crops with high economic values, development of governmental supports, preparing strategic plans to development organic farming, considering quality of crops, considering farm sustainability indexes, using sustainable water resources management and development of extension programs based on farmers needs. Key words: SWOT, farming, management.