Constraints affecting the farmers’ adaptation to water scarcity (The Case of Shushtar County)

Climate change is a threat to water security, water resources and access to water, and thus considered as one of the major threat to the agricultural sector. Farmers have different ability to implement adaptation strategies and that pecuniary and non-pecuniary costs affect human behavior. This study aimed to assess the factors influencing farmers’ adaptation to climate change in Shushtar County. The population of interest consisted of farmers in Shushtar County. According to Bartlett table, a total of 251 farmers were estimated as a sample size. Random sampling was used to draw a sample of farmers from the study area. Data were collected through personal interviews based on a structured questionnaire. The face validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by experts. The reliability of the main scales of the questionnaires was examined by Cronbach Alpha coefficients, which ranged from 0.43 to 0.73. The results showed that the variable of self-efficacy and risk perception have a direct and positive effect on the variable of adaptation behavior. The results showed that the variable of self-protection has a direct effect on the variable of adaptation behavior. The variables of risk perception and self-efficacy have an indirect effect on the variable of adaptation behavior. Collectively, the suggested model is capable predict 35 percent of the variability adaptation behavior.