Predicting and Understanding Farmers' Soil Conservation Behavior in Mazandaran Province, Iran

Document Type : Original Research

Authors
M. Bijani 1
E. Ghazani 1
N. Valizadeh 2
N. Fallah Haghighi 3
1 Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, College of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran.
2 Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, School of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Islamic Republic of Iran.
3 Department of Technology Development Studies (DTDS), Iranian Research Organization for Science and Technology (IROST), Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran.
Abstract
Iran is considered as a vulnerable country in terms of erosion and degradation of soil resources. One of the solutions that have been proposed in recent years to solve this crisis is to pay special attention to the behavioral, cognitive, and social dimensions of soil conservation behavior in agricultural development programs in addition to the technical aspects. In this regard, a study with a descriptive-correlational and causal-relational method was conducted to identify the most important factors influencing the soil conservation behavior among the Iranian farmers and agricultural community. To this end, a sample of 120 farmers in Mazandaran Province was selected using stratified random sampling with appropriate assignment. The results showed that environmental consciousness, environmental values, and social pressures have significant impacts on soil conservation behavior of farmers. Finally, using the results and insights gained from this study, six practical suggestions have been proposed to managers and policy-makers towards the better management of agricultural soil resources. Application of each of these suggestions can act as a turning point in the improvement of the status of Iran's agricultural sector in general and soil resources in particular.

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Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology
Volume 21, Issue 7
November and December 2019
Pages 1705-1719