Vulnerability assessment of Iran's rural-farmer households during COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic caused an emergency around the world, especially in rural communities, and imposed great disasters on human societies, so it's devastating effects on mental health indicators, economy, environment, and social relations are known to everyone. But the accurate assessment of its damage to human societies can help to manage this phenomenon during and post-COVID-19 pandemic. To that end, the present study was conducted for vulnerability assessment of wheat farmers to the COVID-19 pandemic in northwest Iran. The main data collection tool in this study was a questionnaire that was designed based on the Me-bar model, but for the accurate vulnerability assessment, new parameters were added based on the theoretical research literature and the COVID-19 pandemic. The sample size was selected from 420 wheat farmers living in East Azerbaijan Province, the northwest of Iran, using the Kerjcie and Morgan's table. The results showed that for economic vulnerability, the rural poverty was the most important cause of vulnerability of the studied rural households and access to information was most important cause of social vulnerability. Also, the results showed that for psychological vulnerability, the self-efficacy was the most important cause of vulnerability. In other results, irrigation parameters of agricultural lands were the most important cause of environmental vulnerability. The study results showed that the studied farmers have experienced high levels of vulnerability and were strongly affected by economic, social, psychological, and environmental damages. Moreover, the results showed that the farmers of Shabestar and Maragheh had the highest level of vulnerability. In general, the study results can provide policymakers with new insights into the field of COVID-19 pandemic management because the vulnerability of farmers has been identified using 39 parameters.

Vulnerability Assesment of Tourism Village Communities in The Special Region of Yogyakarta during The Covid-19 Pandemic

“…Sources Financial (Kesar et al, 2021;Mueller et al, 2020;Smittenaar et al, 2021;Yazdanpanah et al, 2022) Job Activities (Bhaskara & Filimonau, 2021) Social Interaction (Peters, 2020;Susanti et al, 2023;Yazdanpanah et al, 2022) House Sustainability (Hizra et al, 2021;Pangarso et al, 2021;Tokazhanov et al, 2020) Health Access (Mueller et al, 2020;Peters, 2020;Wang et al, 2020) Education Access (Bhaskara & Filimonau, 2021) Adaptability (John et al, 2022;Kesar et al, 2021) RESULTS AND DISCUSSION…”

“…Many rural communities have become victims of the Covid-19 pandemic. This is not only happening in Indonesia but also in other countries such as the United States, Iran, and India (Kesar et al, 2021;Mueller et al, 2020;Smittenaar et al, 2021;Yazdanpanah et al, 2022). In the case of the United States, rural communities are one of the most vulnerable populations in this country and are significantly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, such as the increase in unemployment, the decrease in overall life satisfaction and mental health, as well as economic prospects (Mueller et al, 2020;Smittenaar et al, 2021).…”

“…In the case of the United States, rural communities are one of the most vulnerable populations in this country and are significantly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, such as the increase in unemployment, the decrease in overall life satisfaction and mental health, as well as economic prospects (Mueller et al, 2020;Smittenaar et al, 2021). In the cases of Iran and India, economic and health conditions are the most severe vulnerabilities faced by rural communities (Kesar et al, 2021;Yazdanpanah et al, 2022). In this regard, Covid-19 worsens the existing vulnerabilities of rural areas (John et al, 2022).…”

Employing the TAM in predicting the use of online learning during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Based on World Health Organization (WHO) statistics, the deadly disease was infecting millions and leaving thousands dead (World Health Organisation, 2021;Hallaj et al, 2022;Moradhaseli et al, 2022). As a response to the COVID-19 crisis, governments around the world have been implementing public policies such as social distancing, isolation, and quarantine (Anderson et al, 2020;Amghani et al, 2022). Many Asian and European countries have shut down large communities, including educational institutions, to combat this "invisible" disease (Sahu, 2020).…”

Typology of Iranian farmers' vulnerability to the COVID-19 outbreak

“…In the US too, the pandemic has not only created a new type of crisis for the agricultural sector but it has also put American farmers in a tough situation ( 16 ). Iranian farmers have also been injured by the pandemic ( 17 , 18 ). The pandemic has aggravated the vulnerability of the agricultural sector in Iran, which is already suffering from fundamental issues and challenges, e.g., lack of investment, low productivity, and market and production inefficiency ( 19 ).…”