How farmers perceive the impact of dust phenomenon on agricultural production activities : a Q-methodology study

Dust as one of the environmental concerns during the past decade has attracted the attention of the international community around the world, particularly among West Asian countries. Recently, Iran has been extremely affected by the serious impacts of this destructive phenomenon, especially in its agricultural sector. Management of dust phenomenon increasingly calls for initiatives to understand the perceptions of farmers regarding this phenomenon. Farmers' views about dust phenomenon can affect their attitude and their mitigating behavior. This can also make a valuable frame for decision and policy-makers to develop appropriate strategies for mitigating dust phenomenon impacts on the agricultural sector. In line with this, a Q methodology study was undertaken to identify the perception of farmers toward dust phenomenon, in Khuzestan province, Iran. Sixty participants completed the Q sort procedure. Data analysis revealed three types of perceptions toward dust phenomenon: health adherents who seek support, government blamers who seek support, and planning adherents who seek information. Awareness of these perspectives is expected to promote the exchange of thought and knowledge among policy and decision-makers, and to support the development of a shared vision on dust phenomenon management

Agricultural water poverty index and sustainability

Water resources are declining at an alarming rate in the world. The use of water resources for agricultural production has contributed to the rapid decline in quantity and degradation of water quality. Though sustainable agriculture must be economically viable, ecologically sound and socially responsible, water scarcity has challenged the sustainability of agriculture, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. There is a relative consensus among professionals that the increasing water scarcity through excessive use of water and mismanagement of the available water resources are major concerns for agricultural sustainability. Agricultural sustainability is assessed using various indicators, but the contribution of the water factor in those indicators is limited. Therefore, we review the role of sustainable water management in achieving agricultural sustainability. We propose an agricultural water poverty index (AWPI) as an instrument to provide a holistic picture of vital issues for sustainable water management. We also distill key components of the agricultural water poverty index and discuss its applications. The agricultural water poverty index can be used to assess the agricultural water poverty among farmers and regions and to provide guidelines for sustainable water management. This article uses the case of Iran to illustrate the application of the agricultural water poverty index in analyzing agricultural water poverty and providing recommendations for sustainable water management

BARRIERS TO FARMERS’ PARTICIPATION IN ESTABLISHING WATER USER ASSOCIATIONS: THE CASE OF IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE NETWORK OF NORTHEAST AHWAZ, IRAN

Concern about water resources in semi-arid areas of the world has led to theintroduction of a participatory management system of water, which potentiallychallenges farmers’ willingness to involvement. Establishing water userassociations has altered the water management system in irrigation and drainagenetworks. Undoubtedly, promoting these changes in rural areas, where the newsocial changes are slowly accepted, is encountered with various obstacles. As such,this study was conducted to recognize the impediments of establishing water userassociations through the eyes of those working in an irrigation and drainagenetwork. Data were collected through a questionnaire which consisted of questionsregarding social, financial, cultural, organizational, management and attitudebarriers. Analysis of data revealed that management barriers were ranked at thefirst place followed by the cultural, attitude and social ones. However, lack ofmotives to stimulate users into participatory system of water management, farmers’inabilities to combat with those who illegally extract water, inability to equal andjustice-based allocation of water to different users, farmers’ preferences to instantindividual advantages instead of future common advantages, negative attitude offarmers toward efficacy of local associations, lack of informative opportunities formaking farmers aware of the WUAs’ benefits were recognized as the strongestbarriers, respectively. The results also showed that there was significantly positivecorrelation among four categories of barriers including social, cultural,management and attitude. This means that they were interrelated and anyintervention to change one could affect the others. Hence, to initiate involvement ofthe local people into decentralized systems of water resources management, salientattempts are needed to empower farmers for removing the barriers, mainlymanagement and social

Analyzing the factors affecting optimal management of saline water by application of Sustainable Livelihoods Framework

In recent years, fresh water has been increasingly reduced and saline water has been one of the options to help the continuity and stability of agricultural activities. Hence, long-term sustainability of saline water irrigation depends on how to manage it at the fields. Optimal management requires identifying the factors affecting it. In this regard, this study used the descriptive–survey method to analyze the factors affecting the optimal management of saline water based on the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework. The statistical population of the study consisted of all the farmers of the Karun County (N=19720). By using the table of Krejcie and Morgan, the sample size was determined (n= 120). The sample was chosen through the simple random sampling method. Data were collected using a questionnaire. The questionnaire's face and content validity were approved by a panel of the agricultural extension and education experts and its reliability was confirmed by calculating the Cranach’s alpha coefficient (0.65-0.83). The data was analyzed by using the SPSS software. At the first stage the variables was converted to standard scores in order to construct livelihood assets indices. Then, principal component analysis was ran to assign the weights of the indicators. The results showed that farmers' management behavior in using saline water was dominated by technical management manners. Social capital and physical capital were known as the most and least livelihood assets of farmers, respectively. Also, there were statistically significant differences in farmers' management behavior based on their livelihood assets

WHAT ORCHARDISTS EXPECT FROM FARMER FIELD SCHOOLS ON INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT: A CASE OF IRAN

Since 2002, the implementation of integrated pest management (IPM) programthrough farmers’ field schools (FFS) approach has gained some priority on theagenda of Iran’s extension services. Different nature of agricultural activities andthe specific context of farming in each area of the country have raised somequestions regarding the suitability of these training programs to meet the needs ofparticipants. In line with this, a need assessment survey in the summer of 2015wasconducted to extract the educational needs of orchardists living in west part of Iran.The study population consisted of all the grape and pomegranate growers thatparticipated in the IPM/FFS programs (N= 420). A sample of 201 individuals wasselected through a simple random sampling manner. To collect data, aquestionnaire based on Borich model was administered. Results indicated that themost important need was “to be skillful in tree pruning” and the least importantwas “to train participants based on lecturing and formal classes”, scoring 4.30 and3.24 out of 5, respectively. Moreover, “the ability to recognize the best time tospray pest-herbicides”, “practical identifying of the symptoms of plant diseases anddirect observations”, “pre-assessment of participants’ information before launchingthe programs” and “acquisition of the know-how knowledge to use bio-fertilizersand manures” were the first four priorities of respondents’ needs among a total of49. The study concluded with the idea that most of orchardists were aware of theneed to conserve the environment and produce safe crops but IPM/FFS trainingprograms could not provide them with adequate skills to perform the sound methodand practice in their professional activities

Investigating the Role of Social Capital on Intentions and Water Conservation Behavior of Farmers in the Aleshtar County

The goal of this study is to investigate farmers’ intentions and behavior regarding water conservation in the Aleshtar County based on social capital. The statistical population in this study consisted of 6000 farmers living in the Aleshtar county A sample of 360 farmers were selected from this population based on Krejcie and Morgan’s Table. Sampling was done by using the stratified random sampling method. Regression analysis of social factors indicated that trust in public institutions, external communication and value of life are the most important factors to predict the intention for agricultural water conservation. The results revealed that these variables on the whole could predict 40 % of the variations in intentions for agricultural water conservation. Furthermore, tolerance of variation and external communications were significantly useful to predict farmers’ water conservation behavior as well. Totally, if these variables are used, we can predict 41% of variations in farmers’ water conservational behavior. Finally, based on the research results, suggestions for better use of water by farmers have been provided