Journal of Nuts 12(3) (2021) 201-214 Journal of Nuts Journal homepage: ijnrs.damghaniau.ac.ir A Feasibility Study on the Development of Hazelnut Processing Industries in Guilan Province, North of Iran Hossein Shahdab Langarudi, Saeed Firouzi* Department of Agronomy, Rasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Rasht, Iran A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T Keywords: The development of hazelnut processing industries is one of the major challenges of hazelnut Development; production in Guilan province, Iran. Hence, the factors influencing the development of these Hazelnut; industries in this province were explored by the Delphi technique in three rounds. After Processing; consultation with academic teachers and researchers of relevant research institutes, 31 experts were Processing industry selected as the research panel members from Agriculture Jihad Organization and the affiliates of Hazelnut Research Institute in Guilan province. The results demonstrated that "specifically supporting large-scale and pioneer orchard owners to establish hazelnut processing industries", "establishing wholesale purchase centers of hazelnut in the context of agricultural production cooperatives", and "training agriculture processing industry experts of the province by dispatching them to countries pioneering in hazelnut processing industries" were the most prominent driving factors of the development of hazelnut processing industries in Guilan province as agreed upon by 98.81%, 96.68%, and 93.74% of the panel members, respectively. in addition, "inappropriate crop insurance coverage of hazelnut production" with an agreement rate of 95.55%, "the lack of a regional macro-plan for the development of agriculture processing industries in the province" with an agreement rate of 94.74%, "fluctuations in hazelnut market price and neglect in official monitoring of price balance in the market by the government", and "the lack of agricultural production cooperatives in the region and the weak cooperative culture " with agreement rates of 92.32% were found to be the main inhibiting factors of the establishment and development of hazelnut processing in the region. Introduction Hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) is regarded as an contains 83% oleic acid and is a major source of this important and highly consumed processed crop in the food ingredient (Üstün and Turhan, 1996). Iran is the world, which not only consumed as a nut but also has eighth largest hazelnut producer in the world after plenty of applications in different food products Turkey, Italy, the Republic of Azerbaijan, the USA, (Anonymous, 2011). Nuts contain high level of Chile, China, and Georgia (FAOSTAT, 2019). In Iran, nutritional value including antioxidants, minerals and permanent hazels are mostly grown in the Eshkevarat fatty acids (Pakrah et al., 2021; Sarikhani et al., 2021; region in the north and the elevations of Qazvin, Sharifkhah et al., 2020; Chatrabnous et al., 2018). Ardabil, and Azerbaijan. Among nuts, hazelnut is rich in vitamin B6 and contains Based on the 2015 statistics of the Horticultural 17-59% protein and 55-65% beneficial oil. Hazelnut oil Research Department of Iran, the amount of cultivated *Corresponding author: Email address: [email protected] Received: 20 November 2020; Received in revised form:7 May 2021; Accepted: 1 August 2021 DOI: 10.22034/jon.2021.1915625.1095 201 201 H. Shahdab Langarudi & S. Firouzi Journal of Nuts 12(3) (2021) 201-214 area of hazels in Iran is over 17,000 ha. Among the processing industry, Edirisinghe (2001) enumerated hazelnut-producing provinces, Guilan is the leading some factors, including implementing food industry both in history and production rate where more than research, allocating facilities and accessible 85% of the whole hazel cultivated area is located in this technologies, encouraging support services to develop province, in particular in the Rudsar county and the healthy trade, and above all, having access to local Eshkevarat region. Indeed, 7200 ha of the Guilan marketing information as the approaches recommended gardens are cultivated by hazels, which produce 6650 t by a commission of several APO countries for the of hazelnuts, accounting for 70% of the total hazelnut development of the agricultural processing industry. production of Iran (Anonymous, 2015). The livelihood Moreover, Eghbali et al. (2018) stated that of many households in the province depends upon hazel economic, production, structural, environmental, and cultivation, directly or indirectly, but due to the poor infrastructure factors are the major obstacles to the hazelnut processing industries in this region, they can development of the processing industry in the not make decent money. As a result, to increase the agricultural sector of Fereidn County, Isfahan province, hazel farmers’ income and employment in the hazelnut- Iran. In a study on the driving and inhibiting factors of producing regions, it is necessary to study the hazelnut the processing industry in North Khorasan province, processing industries in this province. Iran, Kalantari et al. (2010) found that bank facility The agricultural processing industry can improve the granting was the most prominent barrier to the productivity and profitability of the agricultural sector establishment of the processing industry in the province. by reducing crop wastage and enhancing value-added Bozorgmehr et al. (2013), applying the SWOT method crops. It can also contribute to rural development by revealed that the key problem in the context of means of enhancing the share of industrial employment developing fruit processing industries in North in rural areas (Nouri and Nilipour Tabatabaei, 2007). Khorasan province was the lack of working capital, There are many reports on the development of the which resulted in preventing the owners of fruit processing industry in rural areas. In an attempt to industries from accurately planning for the purchase of answer this question “why the agricultural processing raw materials and entailing problems for their industry was less developed in the Marvdasht region, production process. Through a qualitative analysis of Ahmadian et al. (2013) indicated that barriers to fruit processing industry challenges in Kermanshah financial issues and facility, mechanization, weakness in province, Iran, Moradi et al. (2015) implicated poor production factors, and legal, administrative, and market governmental supports, extensive paperwork in the barriers were the major causes of the less-development licensing process, problems in labor supply, poor of the processing industry in the studied region. The informing process, and the lack of strategic planning as impact of these factors was more severe on the tomato the main impediments hindering the development of paste than pickling and salinization industry. According fruit processing industry in the study site. to a study in Odisha State, India, Kishore (2004) Despite the key role of the processing industry in enumerated access to raw material, demand market rural development and agriculture sustainability issues, investment environment, demand estimation, and conservation, Guilan province is suffering from the lack financial and credit facilities as the major factors of hazelnut processing industries, accordingly, all influencing the establishment and development of non- hazelnut production of the province is mostly purchased agricultural industries. Regarding the agricultural from farmers in the raw form at a cheap price and is 202 H. Shahdab Langarudi & S. Firouzi Journal of Nuts 12(3) (2021) 201-214 husked and processed outside the province. Even, the In this research we apply the Delphi technique in hazelnut processing industries, outside the province, three rounds. Delphi is a specialized group opinion poll merely convert the product into nuts whereas processed for future prediction, in which the opinions and hazelnut has many applications in the chocolate, candy, judgments of individuals are collected and summarized and oil industries. The lack of this industry, especially in in a certain domain (Fathi Vajargahi, 2013). The Guilan province as the leading hazelnut producer, technique is mainly employed when there are restricts the income of hazelnut farmers severely, constraints on the use of mathematical rules and thereby jeopardizes the sustainability of its production. formulas (Ahmadi Ahangarkalaei, 1997). It is, therefore, of crucial significance to explore the The Delphi technique is implemented through the factors driving or hindering the development of hazelnut following eight steps: (i) formulating a research processing industries in Guilan province. Accordingly, question; (ii) selecting research panel members, (iii) the present research used the Delphi technique to shed administering the first-round questionnaire, (iv) light on the driving and inhibiting factors of the collecting and analyzing first-round responses, (v) development of hazelnut processing in the province. The preparing feedback of the first round and developing results can end in regional planning. and administering the second-round questionnaire, (vi) repeating steps 4, 5, and 6 for developing the third- Materials and Methods round questionnaire, (vii) analyzing the responses, and The research was conducted in Guilan province (viii) reporting the results to the panel members located in the north of Iran (Fig. 1). The province has an (Ravonne, 2014; Stewart and Shamdasami, 1980). Fig. 2 area of 14042 km2 stretching between the latitudes shows the standard