Factors Affecting Agricultural Land Use Change in of Bavi County Khuzestan Province

Land use change is a major challenge to agricultural production that has intensified in recent years. The problem will in the long run have severe economic, social, and environmental repercussions for rural areas and beyond. Identification of the many factors involved allows for effective policies to be formulated and executed in order to reduce the adverse impacts. It is the purpose of this qualitative study to analyze the factors affecting agricultural land use change in Bavi County, Khuzestan. The statistical population used in this study comprises local farmers who committed either authorized or unauthorized land use changes. Sampling is accomplished using the ’snowball’ method and data are collected through interviews with users. Analysis of the data thus collected reveals that economic, social, legal, and regulatory factors as well as indiscriminate spatial development may be identified as the causes underlying agricultural lands use changes. Based on the results obtained, recommendations are finally formulated to improve upon the current indiscriminate land use change in the study area.