Factors Influencing Adoption of Soil Conservation Practices among Farmers in Garmsar County

In recent era, soil erosion and degradation and its consequences like decreasing agricultural productions, is an important challenge in many semi-arid areas like Iran. In this way, various strategies like conservation agriculture have been introduced for logical land use and preserving soil for next generations. In the other hand, applying these strategies and soil conservation principles is effected by different factors. Therefore, this research aimed to identify factor affecting adoption of soil conservation practices among farmers in Garmsar County. Survey technique and questionnaire instrument were used to gather data from farmers. Questionnaire validity and reliability were confirmed by panel of experts at Shiraz University and pilot study, respectively. Cronbach alpha coefficients of variables were between 0.65 - 0.90. The results showed that the farmers rarely were implementing conservation practices such as using green manures, cultivating pulses plants, scientific and precision use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides (based on soil testing and expert advices) and using combined tillage. Regression analysis showed that education level, soil conservative knowledge, received loans for agricultural practices and social relations explained 26 percent of variation of farmers’ adoption behaviors. In the end, based on the results, some practical recommendations have been presented.