Prioritizing the Effective Criteria for the Sustainability of Agro-Ecosystems in the West Azerbaijan Province by Using of Delphi Fuzzy Technique

Considering the importance of food security for the country growing population and the need for sustainability of agro-ecosystems, this study aimed to prioritizing the effective ecological, social and economic criteria for the sustainability of agro-ecosystems in the West Azerbaijan Province. Ecological, social and economic criteria were investigated 6, 7 and 5 sub-criteria. Data and information required in this study were collected using a group of professors, researchers and agricultural expert opinions and questionnaires in 2018. The criteria and sub-criteria were ranked by using of Delphi Fuzzy technique. The results showed that water resources limitation (W= 0.22) and lake of scientific knowledge (W= 0.25) were the most important sub-criteria respectively in ecological and social criteria. Among the ecological, economic and social criteria, economic criterion had the most effect on reducing the sustainability of agricultural production in the province and high production cost and low income of farmers were the most important (W= 0.27). Therefore, the problem of sustainable production in this province is the water resources limitation and consequently, low income of farmers and lake of scientific knowledge, so it seems appropriate to provide suitable cultivation patterns, use of modern irrigation systems, fallow for water storage, considering research budgets, increasing the educational and training classes for farmers can be useful.