Guilan Province: SWOT Analysis

2. Methodology

2.1. Study area

Guilan Province, the studied region, contributes 26% of total production of rice and 31.7% of rice farms in Iran and has the second rank after Mazandaran Province. In this province, 300,000 users grow rice across an area of over 230,000 ha of fertile lands. Rice growing is the main agricultural activity so that it is the pivot of the economics of the province (Anonymous, 2013). Figure 1 depicts the distribution of rice paddies in Guilan Province.

2.2. Statistical population

The statistical population was composed of upper and middle managers, experts of Jahad-e Agriculture Organization and Rice Research Institute of Iran, professors of Guilan University, and experts working in the field of production and planting

The results are four strategies – SO, ST, WO, and WT – that are examined with respect to the present situation of the profession (Pearce and Robinson, 2003). It is based on the rationale that an effective strategy maximizes the strengths and opportunities and at the same time, minimizes the weaknesses and threats (Hong and Chan, 2010). This simple assumption can radically influence the selection and development of an effective strategy provided it is fulfilled correctly (Pearce and Robinson, 2003). SWOT analysis can be known as an efficiently structured programming method that is used for strategic planning and for recognizing the potentials and priorities of a project to achieve development strategies (Buta,

In addition, the technique examines the interdependencies between the factors on a pairwise basis. Finally, the weighted values are determined for individual alternatives and the best alternative is selected accordingly (Lin et al., 2008). The mutual interdependencies and the relationship between the components of SWOT analysis necessitate the use of ANP to rank the strategies (alternatives) and factors (Sevkli et al., 2012). The structural differences in a hierarchy and a network are illustrated in Figure 1 (Chung et al.,