edris morsali; nader heydari; Abbas Zare; Hamidreza Hatami
Abstract
Infrastructure factors provide the main basis for agricultural production and activity under conditions of limited water resources and are considered as strategic requirement for improving this sector. The aim of this research was recognition, determination of importance and level of effectiveness, and ...
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Infrastructure factors provide the main basis for agricultural production and activity under conditions of limited water resources and are considered as strategic requirement for improving this sector. The aim of this research was recognition, determination of importance and level of effectiveness, and investigating the relation of infrastructural components and indicators in improving agricultural water productivity. The method used for this research was field surveying type in which, after documentary and library studies, a self-made questionnaire was developed for interview with professionals and practitioners to gather their opinion on the importance level of different indicators using a Likert Scale, followed by analysis of questions and assumptions. The research indicated the relation and effectiveness level of variables by means of structural equation modeling and Smart PLS software. According to the obtained results, emphasis of infrastructures were on the side of agricultural water supply, while lack of demand oriented approach, process, systematic, and holistic view were among the main problems of the infrastructures. Also, components such as “downstream instrumentation of the fields and wells with water measurement devices and controlling irrigation water” and “share of downstream farms equipped with systems for lowering water consumption out of the total cultivated area” were among the most effective factors. It was shown that by taking other variables as constant, agricultural water infrastructures have been effective (about 87.6%) on improvement of agricultural water productivity, and there is a positive and meaningful relation between each one of the components and related indicators.
ali akbar mohammadi; h a
Abstract
Shortage of water is one of the main factors limiting development of agricultural activities. This has led to the fact that farm management and productivity of agricultural water need full participation of farmers. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to analyze the factors affecting barriers and ...
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Shortage of water is one of the main factors limiting development of agricultural activities. This has led to the fact that farm management and productivity of agricultural water need full participation of farmers. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to analyze the factors affecting barriers and facilitators in adoption/development of new irrigation systems by farmers. The statistical population of this study included 70 experts of the departments of Agriculture Jihad whose viewpoints were collected and analyzed. Data was collected by using a questionnaire as research tool and SPSS and Lisrel software were used for analysis. To determine the reliability of the questionnaire, alpha coefficient was used by R software, which amounted to 91 percent, reflecting the reliability of data in similar conditions. In order to identify the factors affecting barriers and facilitators in development of new irrigation systems, factor analysis was used. The results of analysis in development barriers section led to identification of five barriers that included farmers awareness, technical problems, administrative costs, government policy, and technical knowledge. These barriers could explain about 69 percent of variations of adopting new irrigation systems. Identified facilitators included satisfaction of progressive farmers, clear comparative advantages, and monitoring and institutional partners. These facilitators could explain about 40 percent of variations about adoption of new irrigation systems. Also, in order to identify direct and indirect relationships between identified barriers and facilitators, Structural Equation Modeling (SEMs) was used. Results of this section showed that farmer awareness (β= 0.87), administrative costs (β= 0.67), clear benefits (β= 0.54) barriers had a direct impact on the development of new irrigation systems. Also, other results of this study showed that there was an indirect and weak relationship between administrative costs, farmers’ interests, and farmers’ awareness in development of new irrigation systems. According to the results, none of the identified facilitators had any significant effect on the adoption of new irrigation systems by farmers.