What drives farmers to use conservation agriculture? Application of mediated protection motivation theory

Conservation agriculture is an approach for managing agricultural ecosystems, improving productivity, increasing benefits and food security, and preserving resources and the environment. The core purpose of this study was to analyze the constructs affecting the intention to use conservation agriculture measures. For this purpose, protection motivation theory was applied as the theoretical framework. Validation of the model was done using a cross-sectional survey among Iranian farmers, and SMART PLS software was used to test the hypotheses. The results showed that the direct effects of the five constructs of perceived severity, perceived vulnerability, response cost, response efficacy, and self-efficacy were significant on the intention to use conservation agriculture measures. In addition, the variables of perceived severity, response cost, and perceived self-efficacy had significant effects on the fear of not using conservation agriculture measures. The results of the bootstrapping analysis indicated that the fear of not using conservation agriculture measures significantly mediated the effects of perceived severity, response cost, and self-efficacy on the intention to use conservation agriculture. The results of the present research help to develop protection motivation theory by defining new relationships between its variables and achieving a deeper understanding of these relationships. The results also can pave the way for social and psychological interventions in the field of adopting the principles of conservation agriculture in agricultural societies. Finally, the results of this research can be used as a decision-making tool and help for users and planners of behavioral changes to better identify the focus points and necessary strategies

Effective Factors on Willingness to Pomegranate Insurance: The Case of Pomegranate Growers in Natanz County

The aim of this study is to investigate factors affecting pomegranate growers' tendency toward agricultural insurance in Natanz County. Sample size was 250 that were selected by Kucran formula collected by questionnaire. Questionnaire reliability was examined by Cronbach's Alpha method about 80 percent. Findings revealed that willingness to insurance has direct relation with age, background in orchard production, number of household members, awareness toward insurance, positive attitude about insurance, risk prone, social participator, use of information resources in relation to insurance,  annual income, production amount, total area of orchard. Moreover, those pomegranate growers that agricultural production was their second job, in compare to those who agricultural production was their main job, had more tendency toward insurance. Besides, those who got into debt in compare to those who did not get into debt had more tendency toward insurance. Using information resources to enhance pomegranate growers' awareness toward insurance, delivering supportive services for small holder pomegranate growers, and installment of insurance amount for those who have less earned income, are some part of those recommendations which have been presented in this study in order to enhance tendency toward agricultural insurance

A Comparative Analysis of Behavioral Theories towards Farmers’ Water Conservation

According to experts, the inefficient agricultural sector has a dominant role in degrading water resources all over the world. Farmers’ conservational behavior is an important aspect of new integrated water management studies. Relevantly, various behavioral theories have been proposed in the field of environmental psychology. The main objective of the present comparative analysis and review study was to explain foundations of the most remarkable water conservation behavioral theories, classify them, and finally, present a critical discussion on the better application of each theory to explain the farmers' Water Conservation Behaviors (WCBs). This study is based on the documentary research method which was accomplished using a systematic literature review. The comparison analysis of existing theories indicates that the “theory selection” should be consistent with the “type of behavior under study”. Consequently, it is recommended to adopt the theories like Planned Behavior Theory and Reasoned Action Theory to illustrate the private-sphere WCBs such as farmers’ willingness to pay for water conservation because these behaviors are directly associated with the farmers’ personal interests. With respect to those conservational behaviors with participatory and collective nature, an individual may ignore his/her short-sighted and immediate benefits to achieve collective and long-term interests. In such a case, the use of moral approach and its relevant theories, including the Value-Belief-Norms Theory and the Norm Activation Theory, seems to be more appropriate. Consequently, agricultural practitioners and researchers are recommended to use rational approach theories to analyze the WCBs of farmers

Conceptualizations of water security in the agricultural sector : Perceptions, practices, and paradigms

Conceptions of agricultural water security are conditioned by larger understandings of being and reality. It is still unclear what such understandings mean for perspectives on water security in general and on causes and solutions related to perceived water security risks and problems in agricultural sector in particular. Based on a systematic literature review, three conceptualizations of water security, related to different paradigms, are presented. Also the consequences of such conceptualizations for determining research objectives, research activities, and research outcomes on agricultural water security are discussed. The results showed that agricultural water security from a positivist paradigm referred to tangible and measurable water-related hazards and threats, such as floods and droughts, pollution, and so forth. A constructivist approach to agricultural water security, constituted by a process of interaction and negotiation, pointed at perceptions of water security of farmers and other stakeholders involved in agricultural sector. A critical approach to agricultural water security focused on the processes of securing vulnerable farmers and others from wider political, social, and natural impediments to sufficient water supplies. The conclusions of the study suggest that paradigms, underlying approaches should be expressed, clarified, and related to one another in order to find optimal and complementary ways to study water security issues in agricultural sector.</p

Toward co-management of Iran's rangelands: Combining stakeholder analysis and social networks analysis

The main feature of common pool resources, particularly rangelands, is the presence of different stakeholders in them with conflicting goals, values, and interests. Conflict among stakeholders, other than competition over rangeland exploitation and ecosystem destruction, is a big challenge in the effective management of rangeland conservation. To determine different stakeholders, their position, and their relationships in the rangelands co-management process, the current study attempts to combine stakeholder analysis and social network analysis. Therefore, a combined approach including interview and survey was used for data collection. First, the stakeholders who were involved in the rangelands' exploitation and management were identified. The identified stakeholders in this study consisted of 48 governmental and non-governmental organizations in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. Later, the characteristics of different stakeholders, including the amount of power, interests, knowledge, information sharing, and their satisfaction in the rangelands' exploitation and management were analyzed; afterwards, the structure of the social network (conflict and participation relations) among the stakeholders was examined. It was found that in the rangelands exploitation and management, the conflict among stakeholders was relatively higher than the participation among them. The results of the study present valuable information to managers who attempt to enhance stakeholder participation, while avoiding or mitigating conflict

Causes and Consequences of the Conflict among Agricultural Water Beneficiaries in Iran

This study aimed to analyze the causes and consequences of agricultural water conflicts among agricultural water beneficiaries in the irrigation network of Doroodzan dam, Iran. This research applied mixed-method and descriptive analysis, which was done in two qualitative and quantitative phases. The results showed that the causes of water conflicts can be divided into two groups of controllable and uncontrollable factors. The findings revealed that the main causes of agricultural water conflict in the studied area were &lsquo;water scarcity&rsquo;, &lsquo;drought&rsquo;, &lsquo;physical structure of the Doroodzan dam irrigation network&rsquo;, and &lsquo;mismatched size of the irrigation network with Doroodzan dam&rsquo;s water capacity&rsquo; as uncontrollable factors. Furthermore, &lsquo;weakness of governmental water management&rsquo;, &lsquo;lake for local management of water resources by farmers&rsquo;, &lsquo;government&rsquo;s reluctance about farmers&rsquo; participation&rsquo;, and &lsquo;farmers&rsquo; reluctance to participate in water management&rsquo; were identified as controllable factors. In this study, most of the conditions identified as consequences of water conflicts had &lsquo;socio-economic&rsquo; and &lsquo;agro-environmental&rsquo; aspects. Finally, based on the findings, a model was designed to determine the causes and consequences of agricultural water conflict. To break the causes and consequences cycle of water conflicts in Iran&rsquo;s agriculture, the most important solution is shifting from governmentality to governance in water resources management

Estimating the Model of Investigating Attitude and Intention in the Usage of Variable Rate Irrigation Technology

Aims: This study investigated the attitude and intention of experts in Agriculture Organization of Fars and Khuzestan Provinces towards the usage of variable rate irrigation technology. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: In Agricultural Organization of Fars and Khuzestan Provinces, between July 2006 and September 2006. Methodology: According to multiple stratified random sampling, We included 249 experts (135 Fars experts, 114 Khuzestan experts, 193 men, 56 women; age range 23-68 years) in both provinces. Davis’s Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Rogers’s Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT) was theoretical framework. Data analyzed by Structural Equation Modeling Technique (SEM) base on LISREL software. Results: Findings suggest that experts have intention towards application of this technology. Observability, perceived ease of use, attitude to use and perceived usefulness variables have a direct effect on experts’ intention to use for the application of VRT-I; and experts’ attitudes to use of technology directly affects variables of observability and perceived usefulness. Conclusion: this study was successful adding some variables in Davis’s TAM and made it more complete. Some applicable recommendations have been presented at the end of article according to the research conclusion

A Framework for Empirical Assessment of Agricultural Sustainability: The Case of Iran

In developing countries, agricultural development is still a fundamental means of poverty alleviation, economic development and, in general, sustainable development. Despite the great emphasis on sustainable agricultural development, it seems that there are many practical difficulties towards empirical assessment of agricultural sustainability. In this regard, the present study aims to propose a comprehensive framework for the assessment of agricultural sustainability and present an empirical application of the proposed framework in south-east Iran (Kerman province). The framework is based on a stepwise procedure, involving: (1) The calculation of economic, social, environmental, political, institutional and demographic indicators, covering the actual and potential aspects of unsustainability; (2) the application of Fuzzy Pairwise Comparisons and Analytic Hierarchy Process to construct composite indicators, with the purpose of incorporating the concept of social construct into the assessment process; and (3) the application of Sustainability Maps, diagrams and Barometer of Sustainability for presenting and analyzing the results. The output of the framework is a comprehensive and yet easy-to-understand picture of agricultural sustainability numerically and visually for the selected counties of the province in 2003 and 2015&#8212;via the variety of comparisons and rankings&#8212;which allows us to identify the weaknesses and strengths of agriculture in each county in various sustainability levels (comprehensive, overall actual and overall potential, dimensional, and base indicators). It also enables us to monitor and analyze the trends in sustainability changes over the years. By providing such information, this framework can be a useful tool to support agricultural sector decisions that would help planners and policymakers find the right path and move toward sustainability, or modify policies to stay in the right direction over time. Overall, the results suggest that the proposed framework can be an effective tool for the assessment of agricultural sustainability. Of course, it is necessary to examine and validate its capabilities through practical applications in different agricultural areas and systems

Conceptualization of Farmers’ Water Conservation Intention and Behavior through the Lens of Economic Man Worldview: Application of Structural Equation Modeling

Although different worldviews have been presented to analyze the conservation behaviors of farmers, limited empirical evidence exists for the use of the economic man worldview to analyze farmers’ water conservation behaviors (WCBs). Therefore, the conceptualization of farmers’ water conservation behavioral intentions through the lens of this worldview was the primary objective of this survey. To this aim, the extended planned behavior theory (PBT), which is the main theory of the economic man worldview, was employed. The study population was 36183 Iranian farmers, 380 of whom were interviewed in-person in the form a cross-sectional survey research design. An estimation of sample size was performed via the Krejcie and Morgan Table. Moreover, the distribution of the sample size was carried out by a multi-stage random sampling method. Validity and reliability, which are undeniable features of questionnaires in social and psychological sciences, were examined using different quantitative and qualitative indices. The obtained results indicated that the effect of intention towards water conservation (IWC) on WCB was positive and significant. Therefore, this research supports the main assumption of the PBT and the economic man worldview. However, according to the results, the power of IWC’s effect on WCB is not very significant. In addition, the variance explanation of WCB as the fundamental dependent variable is not very high. It can be mentioned that the economic man worldview has a relative and moderate power to analyze the WCBs of farmers. Hence, it is suggested that some variables, including moral norms, environmental concerns, and environmental values, are used to develop and increase the explanatory power of the PBT in future studies. This study is the first study of the applicability of the economic man approach in analyzing farmers’ WCBs. It could be used to open a new research window for future and interested researchers to conduct successful interventions in the field of water conservation