ANALYSIS OF FACTORS AFFECTING ADOPTION AND APPLICATION OF SPRINKLER IRRIGATION BY FARMERS IN FAMENIN COUNTY, IRAN

Abstract

Due to its location in the dry belt, the vast country of Iran has always been faced with the problem of water shortages. In such a climate one should take measures to increase the productivity and improve the efficiency of irrigation through expansion of water-conserving technology in the agricultural sector, as this is the largest and most important consumer of water. Therefore this study aimed at investigating factors affecting the adoption and application of sprinkler irrigation technology by farmers in the county of Famenin, Iran. Survey research was the dominant approach. The statistical population consisted of farmers in the Famenin County, and, using Cochran’s formula, 280 of them were selected through multi-stage stratified random-sampling equally among adopters and non-adopters. In order to assess the validity of the questionnaire the opinions of experts were used and to measure the reliability of the questionnaire Cronbach’s alpha statistic was used (82%). The results showed the adoption of sprinkler irrigation systems to be influenced by environmental factors such as the area under cultivation, access to water, water quality, and non-environmental factors such as the workforce number in the family, employment diversity, and participation in extension education and courses on agricultural water management. Ultimately the logit model is estimated in this paper. Adopters have also expressed reasons such as failure to adequately train farmers for maintenance after system installation, scientific and practical justifications, lack of availability of efficient repairs, inappropriate design and implementation by companies, low-quality components and fittings, clogging of sprinklers due to salty water, non-compliance with environmental conditions, difficulty using machines, the large area occupied by these systems, transportation, parts shortage, lack of security and the possibility of the theft of parts and fittings, and communal ownership of water resources as their dissatisfaction factors.