Investigation of Strategies 0f Development of Sustainability in Greenhouses of Alborz Province

Greenhouse cultivation is the most intensive form of crop production which using covering material provides a controlled microclimate that may be adapted to the needs of plants, resulting in higher yield. In recent decades area under greenhouse cultivation expand worldwide and its share in total production of agricultural products has increased dramatically. However, regarding to high consumption of chemical inputs in this cultivation system, its sustainability is under suspicion. Thus, providing mechanisms for maintaining sustainability of this production unit, leads to production of healthy food. So, this paper aims to analysis strategies of development of sustainability in greenhouse cultivation of Alborz province. The methodology used in this study was by collection of primary data and field observations. The target population for this study consisted of all active greenhouse owners in Alborz province (N=366). Subjects were randomly selected for inclusion in samples and the questionnaire was evaluated by use of Cochran's formula and The sample consisted of 155 cases. Reliability of research tool confirmed by Cronbach's alpha coefficient 0.85. Results showed that the strategies classified in 6 categorize which explained 67 percent of total variances. Also in this research to evaluate the goodness of fit indices a confirmatory factor analysis was applied. The result revealed that strategies of development of sustainability in greenhouses consisted of six separate factors including; supportive, production, pricing - marketing, credit, research-extension and environmental.