Factors Influencing Sustainable Agricultural Knowledge and Sustainability of Farming Systems: A Case Study in Fars Province

Studies on sustainable agricultural have not paid adequate attention to farmers' behaviour regarding sustainability. The objectives of this research were: 1) to determine the relationship between socio-economic and farming factors with “sustainable agricultural knowledge”, 2) to predict “sustainable agricultural knowledge” based on socio-economic and farming factors, and 3) to determine the relationship between sustainable agricultural knowledge and sustainability of farming systems. A survey research was used with a multi-stage cluster sampling technique to collect data for the study. In the first stage, 39 villages were selected in Fars Province. Then 200 wheat producers were randomly selected in these villages for interview. The findings indicated that there was a significant and positive correlation between “sustainable agricultural knowledge” with level of literacy, achievement motivation, amount of total wheat production, technical knowledge about wheat production, economic condition, wheat farming model, amount of supervision by Agricultural Service Centers, and educational services provided by extension agents. Stepwise multiple regression indicated that technical knowledge about wheat production, achievement motivation, type of land revenue system, level of literacy and wheat farming model (independent variables) explained more than 50 percent of variability in “sustainable agricultural knowledge”. There was no significant correlation between “sustainable agricultural knowledge” and “sustainability of farming systems”. Possible reasons for this lack of relationship have been discussed. Based on the findings of this study, recommendations are provided towards achieving a more sustainable agricultural system.