Designing a Model of Virtual Water Education in the Agricultural Sector with the Approach of Resistance Economy and Sustainable Development (Case Study: Tehran Province)

The water crisis is one of the most paramount challenges in Tehran province. Virtual water management and education in many countries is a measure to overcome water shortage, especially in the agricultural sector. In Iran, virtual water consumption per capita in the agricultural sector is about 20% higher than the world average. This research was conducted with the aim of designing a model of virtual water education in the agricultural sector with the approach of resistance economy and sustainable development in order to inform the users of virtual water and protect the environment, water resources, and sustainable development in the year 2021.

The method of this research was a combination. In the qualitative phase of the research, in order to identify the main and sub-components of the model, the technique of grounded theory was utilized. A semi-structured interview method was conducted to collect data in this phase. The purposeful snowball method was applied in the qualitative phase for sampling. The statistical population of the quantitative part included professors of related universities, experts, and managers of the executive organizations of the Ministry of Agricultural Jihad. According to the statistics and information obtained, the total number of contacts was 360. The sample size was determined by Cochran's formula of 181 people. A researcher-made questionnaire with a 5-point Likert scale was designed to collect data. Descriptive statistics measures (mean, standard deviation, variance, frequency, and percentage) were calculated for data analysis in the quantitative phase, and confirmatory factor analysis was employed in the inferential phase.

The results of comparing the mean value of the components obtained from the test (t-test) illustrated that there is a significant difference of 1 percent between the current and desired means in all components and the current state of virtual water management education is not desirable. The validity of the questionnaire constructs was calculated by the convergent validity method at the level of 0.49 and the reliability of the questionnaire was calculated by the ordinal coefficient alpha at the level of 0.81. The qualitative findings of the research revealed that 11 components and 37 sub-components were the components of the virtual water education model in the agricultural sector. Based on the standard factor loadings of qvh(γ), the content components of virtual water education (0.97), methods of virtual water education (0.96), and principles of virtual water education (0.92) are respectively, the most substantial in explained the model of virtual water education. Moreover, the confirmatory factor analysis of the components illustrated that the identified components had sufficient factor loading to predict virtual water education in the agricultural sector.

The fit indicators of the education model in the agricultural sector illustrated that the developed model has a good fit and in addition to awareness and behavior change, the model can be a road map for the trustees and agents of education activities for virtual water users in the agricultural sector. Implementing virtual water education through the prepared model can be expected to prevent the wastage of water resources in the agricultural sector and protect natural resources. Furthermore, based on the upstream documents, it is an opportunity to attain modern agriculture, resistance economy, sustainable development, and environmental protection.