Analysis of the Roles of Traditional and Modern Agriculture in the Sustainability of Rural Communities with Regard to the Rural Web Theory

The rural community in Mazandaran is characterized by agricultural traits and rice cultivation. Indeed, agriculture plays an important role in the social, cultural, economic and environmental relations of rural communities in this province. Considering two types of agriculture, this study aims at the relationship between them and a sustainable system which farmers believe can be achieved in farming. The research method was both quantitative and qualitative. In the quantitative part, a questionnaire was used to collect the data. The farmers that were selected were those who had experience with modern agriculture under the influence of agricultural development programs. In the qualitative part, interviews were conducted with a sample of 20 farmers until data saturation. In this research, a sample of three villages around the city of Amol was selected where the farmers had experience with both traditional and modern agricultural systems. The findings show that, in terms of sustainability, there is a fundamental difference between traditional and modern agricultural practices. Based on the results of the analysis, traditional agriculture has a direct impact on sustainability, and farmers are aware of this. However, where the economy is prevailed by profit attitudes and the other sectors are not involved in agriculture, circumstances are not in line with sustainability.