An assessment of farmers’ social resilience level in the face of water-based crises: The case of Haris County

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Islamic Azad University, Ilam Branch , Iran

2 Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, Islamic Azad University, Ilam Branch. Iran

Abstract

Water-based incidents are natural phenomena that have posed Iran to serious crises. Despite efforts to settle water crises and improve the conditions, we still witness a growing trend of water issues, especially in the agricultural sector in Iran. A necessary step to face water-based incidents and alleviate their implications is to have a deep understanding of resilience dimensions to enhance the tolerance level of the farmers. The present study evaluated farmers’ resilience level in the face of water-based crises in Harsin County. The research, which adopted a descriptive survey methodology, was conducted in 2020. The statistical population was composed of the heads of rural households in four rural districts of the county, amounting to about 6000 people. The sample size was determined to be 361 farmers based on Morgan’s table. The measurement instrument was a questionnaire whose validity was confirmed by a panel of experts and professionals and its reliability was confirmed for all sections as their Cronbach’s alpha was estimated at >0.8. SPSS was used for data analysis and Expert Choice was used for pairwise comparisons. Based on the results of the pairwise comparisons, infrastructural resilience to drought has the highest level of importance in the concept of resilience. According to the results of the study, the resilience level was evaluated to be relatively low in all studied rural districts, and the difference in the level of resilience among the studied villages is significant. Also, farmers with irrigated farming have a higher level of resilience than farmers with rainfed farming.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Extended Abstract

Objective

Water-based incidents are natural phenomena that have posed Iran to serious crises. Despite efforts to settle water crises and improve the conditions, we still witness a growing trend of water issues in Iran. A necessary step to face water-based incidents and alleviate their implications is to have a deep understanding of resilience dimensions to enhance their tolerance level. The present study evaluated farmers’ resilience level in the face of water-based crises in Harisn County.

Methods

This research is an applied study in terms of objective, and a descriptive –survey study in terms of surveyed data collection methodology. Questionnaire and In-depth interview was main research instrument. The content validity of the questionnaire was confirmed and the reliability of different parts was approved with Cronbach,s alpha test (ɑ> 0.8). The data were analyzed using SPSS software. The statistical population of the study was rural farmers in Harsin County. The number of rural farmers in Harsin is 6068, distributed in an unbalanced manner in four rural districts. The sample size was determined to be about 370 farmers by the Morgan table. A group of 15 experts and professors in the departments of Agriculture-Jahad, Razi University of Kermanshah and Ilam Azad University participated to determine the weights of the components. Expert Choice software was used to analyze paired comparisons.

 

Results

Based on the results, all studied people in the Bisotun, Cheshmeh Kabood, and Homeh rural districts and most of them in the Shirez rural district were male. The age pyramid of the studied people showed that the majority of them in the Shirez, Bisotun, and Cheshmeh Kabood rural districts were in the age range of 30-50 years and they mostly had diplomas or associate degrees in terms of educational level. As the results revealed, the highest institutional and infrastructural resilience was related to Homeh, the highest ecological resilience was related to Shirez, the highest economic resilience was related to Chamchamal, and the highest health resilience and social resilience were related to Cheshmeh Kabood. The mean institutional and infrastructural resilience was higher in the studied rural districts than the other components whereas the mean ecological resilience was the lowest. According to the relevant items, the water shortage of the rivers and rural wells were the main reasons for the low ecological resilience.

The lowest social resilience was related to Shirez Rural District, especially the poor performance of rural governors in informing people about water-related incidents and the women’s non-participation when crises happened. However, factors inhibiting women’s participation in different social aspects may be very different. Research shows that rural women mainly lack the required political and social authority in rural areas, which is the reason for their low level of participation in activities. Their non-participation during water-related crises is one of the examples. The results of weight assignment to different dimensions of resilience showed that the components of institutional and infrastructural resilience were of the highest importance in shaping the concept of social resilience from the perspective of the subject experts. Based on the weights of the components, Cheshmeh Kabood Rural District had the highest mean resilience and based on the analysis of variance, the rural districts differed in resilience level significantly. Although it cannot be concluded that Cheshmeh Kabood has an ideal level of resilience, it can be said that it is in relatively more desirable conditions when compared to the other studied rural districts.

Discussion

Based on the results, the resilience level was evaluated to be relatively low in all studied rural districts, reflecting the need for the planners and authorities in the water sector to pay special attention to it. The government can be recommended to increase its supports and orient rural development policies towards enhancing infrastructural and institutional facilities, especially in rural districts with low social resilience level.

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Iranian Journal of Agricultural Economics and Development Research
Volume 54, Issue 1
March 2023
Pages 10-129

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