A Moral Extension of the Theory of Planned Behavior to Predict Farmers' Intention to Perform Water Resources Conservation Measures in Zanjan County

Water is one of the most essential components of the natural environment and at the same time one of the main inputs of the agricultural sector which its shortage has led to many communities have faced the serious challenges. In this regard, many researchers and experts consider human beings as the pivot of water resources conservation programs and believe that conservation of water resources depends on accurate understanding of the components and constructs affecting stakeholders' conservation intentions and behaviors in different sections especially in the agricultural sector. Considering the importance of the issue, the main purpose of this descriptive-correlative research was to identify of factors affecting farmers' intention to perform water resources conservation measures (WRCMs) based on the extended theory of planned behavior (TPB). The statistical population of the study comprised farmers in the central district of Zanjan County among which 330 persons were selected through random sampling method. A questionnaire based on the extended TPB model was used to collect the data. The content validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by a panel of experts. The construct validity and the composite reliability of the research instrument were tested by estimating the measurement model and they were satisfied after making necessary corrections. The empirical results of the study indicated that the main components of the original TPB model including attitude, perceived behavioral control and social norms had statistically significant positive effects on the intention to perform WRCMs and explained about 45% of its variances. Furthermore, after the inclusion of the variable of moral norms in the TPB model, the predictive power of the model was found to increase up to 6%. According the findings, the main suggestions of this study to improve farmers' intention to perform WRCMs are: giving financial facilities and credits and providing technical advice by experts, implementing large-scale social awareness programs, and highlighting the importance of conserving water resources as an important moral norm.