Title: Sustainable irrigation management and farmers' knowledge in South Khorasan, Iran

Authors: Azadeh Bakhshi; Lucio Cecchini; Mansour Ghanian; Bahman Khosravi Pour; Fabio Maria Santucci

Addresses: Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, Ramin Agriculture and Natural Resources University of Khuzestan, P.O. Box 63417-73637, Ahvaz, Iran ' Research Unit of Applied Economics, Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno 74, 06124 Perugia, Italy ' Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, Ramin Agriculture and Natural Resources University of Khuzestan, P.O. Box 63417-73637, Ahvaz, Iran ' Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, Ramin Agriculture and Natural Resources University of Khuzestan, P.O. Box 63417-73637, Ahvaz, Iran ' Research Unit of Applied Economics, Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno 74, 06124 Perugia, Italy

Abstract: This paper presents the results of a study investigating groundwater management in Iran, where water is private and its allocation still follows traditional rules. It represents a portion of a wider multidisciplinary research, conducted with the sustainable livelihood approach. A survey was carried out in August 2017, with 237 respondents and a questionnaire with 92 questions. For this article only 15 variables were retained, to analyse the human capital and the relationships with the extension service. Three clusters of respondents have been statistically designed. The farmers' formal education is relatively low, age is high and the awareness about the need for better management is low. The public extension service does not appear to be very effective and participation in its activities is low. Further research is needed to assess which actions and media can be used for improving the attitudes, knowledge and practices related to water management.

Keywords: climate change; groundwater; sustainable development; information; extension; Iran.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSSOC.2019.104567

International Journal of Sustainable Society, 2019 Vol.11 No.4, pp.318 - 335

Accepted: 22 Jul 2019
Published online: 20 Jan 2020 *

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