Challenges of Agricultural Water Management in Karaj County: Farmers’ Viewpoints

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The purpose of this study was to investigate the challenges of agricultural water management from farmers’ viewpoint. The statistical population consisted of 5297 farmers in Karaj County. A total number of 142 farmers were selected applying Cochran’s formula. The sample was drawn using stratified sampling method with proportional allocation. To collect data, a questionnaire was developed. To ensure face validity, faculty members of the department of agricultural extension and education, University of Tehran and experts revised the questionnaire. Cronbach's alpha was calculated for different sections of the instrument and values of ? 0.7 were considered to be acceptable. The data were analyzed using SPSS. Farmers were asked to prioritize the challenges and limitations of water management. Of these challenges, farmers cited surface water reduction and the decline in groundwater levels as the most important ones. With regard to water transfer, leakage of canals, decay of the coverage of canals, and water infiltration were reported as the main issues. In terms of water consumption, lack of application of mechanized irrigation systems was mentioned as the first priority. Moreover, the challenges of agricultural water management were classified into 7 categories through the factor analysis including: quantitative and qualitative problems of water sources, economic challenges, etc.

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