Perceived causes of farmers' vulnerability with emphasis on drought(Case study: rural desert areas of east Isfahan)

 It can be seen that their livelihood is dependent on agriculture. This article aims to investigate the perceived causes of farmers' vulnerability from the villagers' point of view with the structural equation modeling approach. 

 The current research is applied research regarding its purpose and causal research. The statistical population of the research consists of 2894 rural farmer households living east of the Zayandeh River basin in 1401. The statistical sample of 339 household heads was determined using Cochran's formula. This number was selected by a simple random sampling method. Data was analyzed using SPSS software and structural equation modeling (Smart PLS). The variables of social empowerment, management, water resources, infrastructure, and services are the observed variables. 

 The results show that the validity of all four measurement models on farmers' vulnerability is acceptable. According to the results, the t coefficients between the main research variables were above 2.58, meaning the relationship is significant and indirect. In this way, the dimensions of social empowerment, management, water resources, and infrastructure and services have a negative and significant effect on the vulnerability of farmers; the value of R2 shows that 76.7% of the vulnerability of farmers is explained by achieving the four dimensions, and then water resources with a coefficient of 0.89. , has had a more significant impact on farmers' vulnerability than other dimensions.

 To reduce farmers' vulnerability level, infrastructure and service indicators should be given more attention to improving the final outcome of farmers' vulnerability.Innovation: The innovation of this research is in the study area and its indicators.