Investigating the Role of Social Capital on Intentions and Water Conservation Behavior of Farmers in the Aleshtar County

The goal of this study is to investigate farmers’ intentions and behavior regarding water conservation in the Aleshtar County based on social capital. The statistical population in this study consisted of 6000 farmers living in the Aleshtar county A sample of 360 farmers were selected from this population based on Krejcie and Morgan’s Table. Sampling was done by using the stratified random sampling method. Regression analysis of social factors indicated that trust in public institutions, external communication and value of life are the most important factors to predict the intention for agricultural water conservation. The results revealed that these variables on the whole could predict 40 % of the variations in intentions for agricultural water conservation. Furthermore, tolerance of variation and external communications were significantly useful to predict farmers’ water conservation behavior as well. Totally, if these variables are used, we can predict 41% of variations in farmers’ water conservational behavior. Finally, based on the research results, suggestions for better use of water by farmers have been provided.