The Explanation of Appropriate Strategies and Mechanism for Achieving Sustainable Agriculture

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

shahid Beheshti University

Abstract

The evidence from experiences and projects have revealed that favorable policy environment, resource conserving technologies, enabling external institutions, and local institutions and groups are the components and the preconditions needed for the successful implementation of sustainable agriculture. In this context, the mission of government is providing an appropriate institutional environment for the development and enforcement mechanisms of sustainable agriculture. Accordingly, in the present article, agricultural stockholders’ viewpoints including official experts, scientists, researchers, and business about strategies as a set of rules and devices within a mechanism for sustainable agricultural development have been explored. Stratified random sampling was used to identify 95 respondents. Content validity and reliability of research instrument were examined using a panel of experts and Cronbach's alpha, respectively. Factor analysis was employed to determine the strategies of sustainable agricultural development. Overall, results showed that strategies in the three categories including: enabling – e.g. supportive and extension practices, developing social capital, and encouraging institutional trust; and enforcing – e.g. establishing regulations and programs, agri-environmental scheme and  labeling and information, and encouraging – e.g. providing non-agricultural knowledge services such as  financial incentives key means for encouraging sustainable agriculture development in Iran. 

Keywords

References

  1. Munasib, Abdul B. A. ; Jordan, Jeffrey L. (2011). The effect of social capital on the choice to use sustainable agricultural practices , Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics ; 43(2):213–227.
  2. Allahyari, M. S. (2008). Extension Mechanisms to Support Sustainable Agriculture in Iran Context, American Journal of Agricultural and Biological Sciences, 3 (4): 647-655.
  3. Arbion, A.Gh., Kalantari, A.A. and Shabanali, Fami, H. (2010). Measuring sustainability level of wheat cropping system in Fars Province and determination affecting factors, Iran Agricultural Extension and Education Journal 5(2):1728. (In Farsi)
  4. Bachev, H. (2007). Governing of Agrarian Sustainability, ICFAI Journal of Environmental Law, VI(2), Hyderabad: ICFAI University, 7-25.
  5. Bachev, H. (2008). Management of Environmental Challenges and Sustainability of Bulgarian Agriculture, In P. Liota, D. Mouat, W. Kepner, and J. Lancaster (editors), Environmental Challenges and Human Security: Recognizing and Acting on Hazard Impacts (pp.117–142). The Netherlands: Springer.
  6. Bachev H. (2009). Mechanisms of Governance of Sustainable Development, MPRA Paper No. 14947, Retrieved from: http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/14947/.
  7. Bartlett J.E., Kotrlik J.W., & Higgins C.C., (2001). Organizational research: determining appropriate sample size in survey research obtained, Information Technology, Learning, and Performance Journal, 19(1): 43-50.
  8. Burton, R.J.F., & Paragahawewa, U.H. (2011). Creating culturally sustainable agri-environmental schemes. Journal of Rural Studies 27: 95–104.
  9. Clive, G. & Kirkpatrick, C. (2006). Assessing national sustainable development strategies: Strengthening the links to operational policy, Natural Resources Forum 30:146–156. Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
  10. Dumanski, J. (1994). Proceedings of the International Workshop on Sustainable Land Management for the 21st Century. Volume 1: Workshop Summary. The Organizing Committee. International Workshop on Sustainable Land Management. Agricultural Institute of Canada, Ottawa. p 50.
  11. Eionet, (2010). Factsheets on ‘Food and Drink’. Retrieved from:  http://scp.eionet.europa.eu/facts /factsheets_scp/food_drink. November 20, 2012.
  12. FAO (2004). The ethics of sustainable agricultural intensification. Rome.
  13. Fathi, H., Heidari, H., Impiglia, A. & Fredrix M. (2011), History of IPM/FFS in Iran. Regional Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Programme in the Near East, FAO, Rome.
  14. Grote, U. & Kirchhoff, S. (2001). Environmental and Food Safety Standards in the Context of Trade Liberalization: Issues and Options. ZEF-Discussion Papers on Development Policy, Center for Development Research, Bonn, June.
  15. Jones, D. (ed.) (2003). Organic Agriculture: Sustainability, Markets and Policies, Wallingford, UK: CABI Publishing.
  16. Jones, N., Sophoulis, Costas M., Iosifides, Th., Botetzagias, I. & Evangelinos, K. (2009). The influence of social capital on environmental policy instruments. Environmental Politics, 18: 4, 595 -611.
  17. Karami, E., &  Mansoorabadi A. (2007). Sustainable agricultural attitudes and behaviors: a gender analysis of Iranian farmers. Environmental, Development and Sustainability, 10(6): 883-898.
  18. Mirovitskaya, N. & Ascher W. (editors) (2001). Guide to Sustainable Development and Environmental Policy. London: Duke University Press.
  19. Naderi Mahdei K., Hosseini, S.M. Aazami M. & Saadi  H. (2010). Administrative Feasibility of Monitoring Mechanisms Implementation for Sustainable Agriculture, American Journal of Applied Sciences 7 (2): 208-213.
  20. Najafi, Gh., & Zahedi, Sh. (2005). The issue of agricultural sustainability in Iran, Journal of Sociology of Iran, 6(2): 73-106. (In Farsi)
  21. OECD (2003). Organic Agriculture: sustainability, markets and policy. Proceedings of the OECD Workshop on Organic Agriculture. September 23-26, 2002. CABI Publishing, Wallingford. 
  22. Parminter, T., (2003). Policy Strategies for Natural Resource Management. MAF. ISBN: 0-478-07733-5, pp: 36.
  23. Pender,J., Gebremedhin, B. Benin, S. & Ehui, S. (2001). Strategies for sustainable agricultural development in Ethiopian, EPTD, Discussion Paper no. 77, Environment and Production Technology Division, International Food Policy Research Institute, 2033 K Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20006 U.S.A.
  24. Power A. G. (2010). Ecosystem services and agriculture: tradeoffs and synergies, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 365, 2959–2971.
  25. Pretty, J. N. (1996). Regenerating Agriculture, London: Earthscan Publications.
  26. Pretty, J. & Ward, H., (2001). Social capital and the environment. World Development, 29 (2): 209–227.
  27. Rezaei-Moghaddam, K., Karami, E. & Gibson, J. (2005). Conceptualizing sustainable agriculture: Iran as an illustrative case. Journal of Sustainable Agriculture, Vol. 27(3). 25-55.
  28. Reyahi-Khoram, M. R. Shariat, M., Azar, A., Moharamnejad N. & Mahjub H.  (2006). Implementing and Prioritizing the Strategies of Sustainable Agriculture Using Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP); Case Study; Hamadan Province Agriculture Field, Iran. Pakistan Journal of Biological Sciences 9 (13): 2462-2467.
  29. Rölling, N. G., & Wagenmakers, M. A. E. (1998). Facilitating sustainable agriculture: Participatory learning and adaptive management in times of environmental uncertainty. Cambridge, UK: Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge.
  30. Siddaraju V. G. (2011). Role of non–governmental organizations in promoting sustainable agriculture development in Karnataka.  International Journal of the Physical Sciences, 6(2): 057–061.
  31. Shabanali Fami , H., Kalantari, K.A. Sharifzadeh & Moradnezhadi, H. (2007). Principal Components of Policy Framework for Sustainable Agriculture and Its Implications for National Extension System in Iran. Journal of Sustainable Agriculture, 31:2, 125-144. (In Farsi)
  32. Veisi H., Liaghati H., Hashmi F. & Edizadehi K. (2012). .Mechanisms and instruments of sustainable development, Development in Practice, 22(3): 385-399. (In Farsi)
  33. Veisi H. (2012). Exploring the determinants of adoption behaviour of clean technologies in agriculture: a case of integrated pest management, Asian Journal of Technology Innovation, 20(1): 67-82.
  34. Vorley, B. (2002). Sustaining agriculture: Policy, governance, and the future of family- based farming, A synthesis report of the collaborative research project policies that work for sustainable agriculture and regenerating rural livelihoods, IIED Publication, No. 9175, UK.
  35. Williams, B.K., Szaro, R.C. & Shapiro, C.D. (2007). Adaptive Management: The U.S. Department of Interior Technical Guide. Adaptive Management Working Group, U.S. Department of Interior, Washington, DC.

Zhao, J., Qishan L., Hongbing D. & Yan Y. (2008). Opportunities and challenges of sustainable agricultural development in China. Philosophical Transactions of Royal Society, 363: 893-904.

Iranian Journal of Agricultural Economics and Development Research
Volume 47, Issue 2
December 2016
Pages 427-440

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics