Factors Affecting Farmers’ Satisfaction with New Irrigation Systems in Behbehan Township

Water is the major limiting factor for agriculture in an arid and semi-arid region. Demand for available water resources is fast and the competition among the various sectors of the economy for the scarce water is becoming intense. In response to these conditions, pursuing various innovative technical, institutional and policy interventions to enable the efficient, equitable and sustainable utilization of the scarce water resources. In this regard, many governments introduce new irrigation systems to address water shortage in their agriculture sectors. However, the success of such policy completely depend on farmers’ adoption and this, in turn, depends on farmers’ satisfaction.  In light of these facts, the aim of this paper is to investigate and measure farmers' satisfaction with a new irrigation system that ultimately leads to a better understanding of why farmers adopt or reject new irrigation system. To achieve these goals, the survey method is applied as a research method. The statistical populations were farmers who adopted the new irrigation system in Behbehan Township in Khuzestan province in southern Iran. Data were collected using a researcher made questionnaire. Validity questionnaires were approved by a panel of expert and its reliability was approved by a pilot study (0.81-0.94). Structural equation modeling showed that farmers’ satisfaction mainly was determined by value followed by perceived quality. The findings yield public policy and marketing recommendations for stimulating the adoption of new irrigation systems among farmers. The findings yield public policy and marketing recommendations for stimulating the adoption of new irrigation systems among farmers.