An Identification and Comparison of the Socio-economic Characteristics that Affect the Terracing Practice Acceptance by Different Income Groups of Farmers (Case Study: Chamany Watershed of Golestan Province)

Nowadays soil erosion is considered as a serious threat to human's life and his welfare. When soil erosion not properly controlled, the fertility would gradually decrease. Adoption of appropriate soil conservation practices along with socio-economic factor's assessment can be used to increase farmer's awareness and acceptance of soil conservation, and to diminish soil erosion damage. The aim followed in this study is to identify and compare socio-economic factors that affect terracing acceptance by farmers in income groups of Chamani watershed, upstream of Gorgan-rud River basin in Golestan Province. The necessary information was gathered through design, and completion of 142 questionnaires that consisted of the the information items of: individual, farmland features, and awareness level of farmers regarding soil conservation practices, with farmers coming from across five villages in the watershed. Then different indexes were analyzed and compared through weighting. Results indicated that “education” from among individual features, “farm size” from farmland features and “awareness level of farmers regarding soil conservation practices” from awareness level exert the highest weight and in the fourth income group. These variables help one to draw very helpful policy conclusions for sustainable land management.