Investigation of the relationship between social capital and farmer's intention toward establishment of and membership in Water User's Associations: The case of Aleshtar County

Rapid increasing population, overuse of existing aquifers and climatic changes, have all led to a growing global crisis in the management of water resources in agriculture. As custodians of agricultural water resources, farmers are key factors affecting the way the crisis is tackled and, consequently, encouraging good water management by farmers is a central issue for governments. One of the effective ways of doing so, is their participation to formation of water users’ associations)WUAs(. In this paper we propose that understanding of participation in water users’ associations requires increasing in our understanding of the development and deployment of social capital. As such, we examined the relationship between social capital and farmers’ intention toward establishment of and membership in Water User Associations in Aleshtar County. A sample of farmers (n= 360) was selected through a stratified random sampling method. Data collection in this study was conducted using a researcher-made questionnaire. After preparing the questionnaire and confirming its validity by experts, using a pilot study its reliability were confirmed by calculating Cronbach's alpha values ​​for the variables investigated. To examine the social factors influencing the willingness of farmers to form and join WUAs, the regression analysis using inter method was run. The findings revealed that three variables including involvement in local community activities, ‘thick’ trust, and tolerance of diversity are able to predict a significant proportion of the variation in farmers’ intention toward Water User Associations establishment (R2= 0.412). Further, four variables of inclusion in local community activities, ‘thick’ trust, local external communication, and civic participation are able to predict a significant proportion of the variation in farmers’ intention toward membership (R2= 0.51). Recommendations of how to increase the willingness of farmers to form Water User Associations and increase their participation are presented and discussed.