Determination of Optimum Cropping Pattern of Major Crops in Marand Plain with Emphasis on Sustainable Use of Water Resources

Excessive and undesirable extraction of water resources in many agricultural areas of Iran, especially Marand Plain as one of the agricultural poles of East Azerbaijan province, has revealed the necessity of optimal allocation of limited water resources and the necessity of different irrigation strategies for each crop. Accordingly, this study aimed at determining the optimal cropping pattern of crops with emphasis on water resources limitation in Marand Plain. For this purpose, a fractional programming model with multiple objectives was used to evaluate the relative efficiency of agricultural sustainability. According to the study results, the optimal pattern of sustainable cultivation of the proposed model would reduce the gross income of farmers in the short run, compared with that of the linear programming model; also , based on the results of the model, the water consumption deficit programming model would be done so that there might be no shortage of water in different months while the consumption of harmful chemicals such as chemical fertilizers and pesticides would be at its minimum aa well as eliminating the crops which produce less gross profit than that of the water use pattern from the current cropping pattern and including the crops with low economic cost and low water requirement such as saffron which are compatible with the region's climate. Accordingly, the role of agricultural extension in training modern methods of irrigation, education of scientific agricultural production methods and the role of agriculture in the appropriate use of water saving technologies, the use of saved water in products with higher returns while increasing the area under cultivation such as saffron are more evident to achieve the sustainable agriculture.